


Partners

by giraffex, Jean_C_Pepper



Category: Oz (TV)
Genre: Alternate Canon, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2013-03-20
Packaged: 2017-10-28 16:36:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 52,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/309854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giraffex/pseuds/giraffex, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jean_C_Pepper/pseuds/Jean_C_Pepper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This story is complete but on a brief hiatus</p>
        </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Miguel opened his eyes. He wasn't in solitary anymore he could see that. He was in the hospital ward. He was restrained to the bed.

"Hey, " he called weakly.

Ryan O' Reily stepped into view. "You're awake. I'll get Dr. Nathan"

Miguel closed his eyes, trying to clear his head and remember what got him here. The dull throb in his throat was what tipped him off; he'd tried to hang himself. Apparently, unsuccessfully. "How are you feeling, Miguel?" The soft sound of Dr. Nathan's voice made him finally open his eyes.

"Like shit," Miguel could barely whisper. He was still here, still alive.  They would send him back to Solitary as soon as he was well. He closed his eyes in defeat.

Dr. Nathan poked around, taking his vital signs. "You're lucky to be alive. You will be as good as new, soon."

"What's the use?" Miguel said. "They'll just send me back to Solitary."

"Maybe not," said a new voice. Miguel looked up. It was Father Mukada. Miguel could still see O' Reily behind him. It was too much and Miguel shut his eyes again and felt the sounds of the hospital roll over him.  
   
"Miguel, you being in solitary is clearly not working out. The conditions in there are horrible and with you being on all those meds and still trying to commit suicide...I'll make sure that you end up back in Em City." Father Mukada was speaking to Miguel's back, not entirely sure if the Latino was even listening. He'd gotten this far with Miguel, he'd see to it that the younger man got out of Oz alive and in one piece.

Ryan O' Reily was listening in the background. He knew that Father Mukada would work to bring Miguel back to Em City. Sister Peter Marie was looking into some type of institution for Cyril. It was a possibility that Cyril would be moved within a couple of months. Even Dr. Nathan, who had every reason to hate Cyril, had written a strong letter of recommendation. Gloria still shot Ryan looks of hatred and disapproval every time she looked at Ryan.

The Irishman studied the Latino as Father Mukada continued to talk to Miguel. Wheels began to turn. El Cid had royally fucked things up. Things were tense between El Norte and the Homeboys, the Wiseguys and the Irish. When Miguel had run El Norte, things had been smooth and the tits had flowed like water.

Ryan realized he needed to get Miguel as an ally, possibly even a pod mate if Cyril actually did get transferred out of Oz. Miguel was still unresponsive to Father Mukada, so Ryan cleared his throat, hoping the priest would give him permission to talk to Miguel. "Hey Father, can I talk to Alvarez?" Mukada thought it over for a moment before silently nodding. He walked toward the end of the infirmary, giving the two inmates a little privacy. Ryan stepped closer to the bed, gently resting his hand on the Latino's shoulder. "Alvarez...you listening?"

"What do you want, O' Reily?" Miguel asked. The short conversation with Mukada had exhausted him and he just wanted to go back to sleep.

 

"You're needed in Em City. El Cid has no loyalty anymore. I want to help you get rid of him and then take over for him"

Miguel perked up at that. Getting rid of El Cid would be a Godsend. But why was O' Reily so concerned about it? Miguel turned to lay on his back, his gaze settling on Ryan's features, noticing how serious the Irishman looked. "What's it to you, O' Reily? Why are you trying to help me all of a sudden?”

"Two reasons. One is that El Cid has fucked up the tit trade and we are this close to an all out war. You know what that means in this place. Lock-down, lock-down and more lock-down. The hacks get nervous. They aren't as susceptible to bribes. Or bringing in tits or anything else that's needed. Things just get worse. So, I want you back in control and El Cid gone to keep the peace. The second is that I'm looking to partner up with you on the tits. We'll run everything nice and easy. We keep our guys at peace. Everyone is happy."

O’ Reily had a good point. With El Cid out of the way, the drug trade would be back in proper order and the tension between all the races would lessen considerably. Life in Em City would be bearable again, and maybe this time Miguel could gain the respect back he'd lost since Hernandez got to Oz. "I'm in." He noticed that sly O’ Reily smile forming on the Irishman's face and new some scheme was brewing inside that devious mind of his.

Ryan O’ Reily left Miguel Alvarez in a barely concealed state of elation. Everything was going exactly as planned. Now, if Cyril could be moved, Ryan would consider getting Miguel made his pod mate. Everything would run smoothly, the tits would flow and Ryan would be a happy man. IF Alvarez got his shit together and got better. He'd dismissed the Irishman with a "Go away, I'm tired now" but he looked better than Ryan had seen him in a long time.

Father Mukada kept his word and after a week and a half in the infirmary and a psychiatric evaluation from Sister Pete, Miguel was finally on his way back to Emerald City. Once those gates opened, he glanced around the quad, hoping to catch Ryan's eyes first. But of course with his luck, the first person he sees is El Cid. "Out of Solitary, Michael?" It takes everything in him not to roll his eyes and lash out at the bastard that got him sent there in the first place. Instead he tries to play it cool, make it seem like his loyalties were still with the current leader of El Norte. Miguel needed to find Ryan. Needed to figure out how they were going to get rid of this motherfucker and when.

Ryan O’ Reily had been in a conference with Sister Pete about Cyril's impending transfer, which was actually becoming a reality. Cyril had been moved out of his pod into the psych ward in preparation for his move.

Ryan knew that he wanted Miguel moved in with him, but knew that McManus wouldn't do it if he asked. So, he casually dropped an aside to the sister about Miguel. She spoke to Father Mukada. Father Mukada spoke to McManus and it was a done deal-especially when Ryan acted like he didn't want to do it.

Ryan came back to Em City and Miguel found him almost immediately. "It's cool. We're Pod mates," Ryan told him. "We can plan more later, " he said.

Miguel followed Ryan into their pod, noting the look of contempt on El Cid's face as he followed the Irishman. Hernandez might have been a heartless bastard, but he wasn't stupid. "Yo...I think he knows we're plotting something," Miguel said once the two had settled in. He kept his stance casual and his back to the door so any nosy onlookers wouldn't know what was going on.

Ryan nodded a little, knowing Miguel was right. "That's why we have to work quick. Make sure it's not traced back to either of us. Of course he's going to think we're up to something, but I'm not worried about it. The fuckers not gonna know what hit him."

"So, what's the plan?" Miguel noticed that the Irishman looked smug, well smugger than usual.

"It's twofold. One is playing on the tension between Hernandez and the Homeboys, Hernandez and the Wise Guys. Both Pancamo and Adebisi are both ready to fire. Just a push would make them go off. That's not how we're going to do it, though. "

"What are we going to do?"

"Spike his tits. I have been giving him the good H, the stuff we got in a few months ago that wasn't cut and I saved."

Miguel nodded, even though he knew nothing about any pure H.

"When the time is right, I'll give him the stuff that hasn't been stepped on. The stuff that's 70 percent pure. Man, we got lucky on that one. I hadn't sold any of it when the word came in that people were dying from it on the street-it was 70 percent pure. You can step on it 8 times and it's fine. I have made a fortune, even though I had to get the stuff to cut it with and cut it myself. I have been slowly selling it, but I held back a couple of grams of the pure. You never know. No one will know who sold him the tits. They will think he got it and didn't know it."

"So, how are you going to get it to him? He doesn't buy tits from you."

"That's where you come in. Think you can get in good enough with El Norte to get close to one of them?"

Miguel snorted at the question like it was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. "Are you nuts? El Cid has all of those assholes wrapped around his finger. I'm low man on the totem pole. I might be able to get in Chico's good graces again, but that's reaching, man. Why?"

"If you can get chummy with them again, you can switch out his stash with my stuff. Then everyone will just assume he got a bad batch."

This was risky, that much was sure. But there was no other way that Miguel could see. "You sure, man? I mean this is some make or break shit."

"I'm sure, " said Ryan. "This is the only way. What about subservient? Will they take to you if you suck up to them? It won't be for long."

Miguel sighed. He could see El Cid appreciating some good ass kissing, but he wasn't exactly in the mood to deliver it.

"I'll see what I can do." Miguel wasn't sure why he was trusting this crazy Mick to have his back with all this shit. But he had a strong feeling that having faith in this man really would pay off. "I still don't get why you're so gung ho to help me out, man." But he appreciated it. It was nice knowing he wasn't alone anymore. He just wasn't about to tell O’ Reily that.

O’ Reily wasn't about to tell Alvarez what Sister Pete had told him when he approached her about sharing a pod with Miguel. "You need someone to look after. So Alvarez is your new project." Ryan knew she was right on some level, he was used to taking care of Cyril here. But he was also looking for a partner, someone to watch his back.

 

"So when do we need to get the ball rolling on all of this?"

"As soon as possible. Associate with them when you can, we want them to think we're only pod mates. The less friendly they think we are the better." Ryan hopped up on his bunk, pulling a magazine out from under his pillow, making it seem like he could care less about the Latino’s presence. "You should go do some laundry." Miguel caught on to what he was saying and started gathering some clothes up, hoping this plan worked.

Once in the laundry room, Miguel was approached by El Cid again. "So, Michael," he commented. Miguel struggled again not to roll his eyes. "Just what do you think you're going to be doing back in El Norte? "

"I'm just here to follow your lead," Miguel said humbly. El Cid looked really pleased at this, though, so Miguel continued. "Whatever you need me to do, I'll do. "

El Cid looked thoughtful at this.

Miguel knew he was walking a fine line telling El Cid he'd do anything for him. Last time that meant cutting out Rivera's eyes. That still haunted him. "Right now, keep your eyes and ears open. Things are too tense right now. Pancamo and Adebisi are plotting something, I just don't know what. You find anything out let me know. If I think it’s useful, you might be on track to getting in better with us." Miguel nodded, putting on a show for the leader.

Ryan was still reading on his bunk, but Miguel knew that he wasn't as absorbed as he seemed.  
"So," he said, not moving. "What did El Cid say to you in the Laundry Room? Did he threaten you?”

"No, " said Miguel. " For right now, he wants me to keep my eyes and ears open. "

Ryan sat up and rubbed his hands. "Excellent, " he said before jumping down from the bunk. "That's better than I hoped for. We can start feeding him phony information right away."  
   
“He thinks Adebisi and Pancamo are about to start some shit. Your close enough to both of them, find out what you can and we'll twist it to our advantage."

Ryan nodded in agreement, his eyes lighting up in that devilish way they did when a good plan started coming together. "Now you're starting to think like me, hermano."

Miguel just chuckled as he left their pod again, this time heading to the TV’s for some Miss Sally. This whole scheming thing came a lot more naturally than he'd ever thought it would.  
The next day, Ryan approached Adebisi first. The big African was in a good mood for some reason.  
"So, I was wondering. What's going on with you and El Cid? Things seem pretty tense." Ryan tried to sound casual.

Adebisi eyed him in the way he had. "Things are tense, but they will be better soon," he said cryptically. “Why are you so interested?”

Ryan decided to go with the truth this time. "You know me. Wanting to protect my share of the tit trade."

"You do not worry your pretty head about it," Adebisi said, patting him on the shoulder. "Everything is fine."

Next, Ryan approached Pancamo.

"What do you want, O’ Reily?" Pancamo asked, not even having to look up to know Ryan wanted something.

"What? I can't just want to have a normal conversation with you?"

"I learned early on that nothing is ever normal with you. What do you need?"

Ryan cut straight to the point, knowing if he beat around the bush, he'd just piss the Sicilian off. “What's up with you and El Cid? I mean, it’s always pretty tense around here, but I'm starting to sense a lock-down."

"What's it to you?" Pancamo retorted defensively.

"I have an interest in protecting my share in the tit trade and I have an interest in us not going into lock-down. Cyril is about to be transferred to an institution and I don't want anything to fuck with that," Ryan played it straight and looked Pancamo in the eye.

"If you are about to kill El Cid, I would prefer to wait until Cyril is safely out. Everything is on the verge of war."

"You have no love for the Spics. Don't worry about it if we're about to go to war."

"So you are about to start a war," Ryan said. Pancamo looked sly. Ryan had the sense that he was feeding him misinformation, but he also knew that it would work in their favor.

 

"Maybe, Maybe not" with that, Pancamo turned away and wouldn’t' say any more.

Ryan returned to the Pod. Miguel was laying in his bunk. He was still sleeping a lot, not having completely returned to normal. He had started working in the Infirmary again, but only in half shifts.  
Miguel could sense another person in the pod, slowly bringing him out of his half slumber. All the meds Dr. Nathan had him on combined with not being used to being back on a set schedule was really messing with his head. He rolled onto his back, glancing over to see O’ Reily taking a piss.

"Find out anything good?" His voice was still thick with sleep.  
"Neither are giving up too much info, but a war is coming." He finished at the toilet and turned to face Miguel.

"War is coming, Miguel, " Ryan repeated. "It may be Pancamo and Adebisi who start it, but it's going to be US who reap the benefits. Pancamo seemed to be using me to spread information. So, you make sure you tell El Cid that they are both preparing for war. That should send him into a fury. "

Miguel sat up, his head still heavy and then he got up and wandered over to the TV area to watch Miss Sally. He knew that El Cid would find him there.

He made sure to sit off by himself and wait for El Cid to come to him. He needed to lay low, couldn't draw too much attention to himself. After about 10 minutes of idle TV time, Miguel felt someone’s presence looming next to him.

"Got anything, Miguel?" Hernandez asked casually, making it look like he was having a conversation about what was on TV. Miguel was pleased to hear his actual name, knowing that El Cid mean business.

"Adebisi and Pancamo are preparing for a war, and soon. That's all I got right now, but be ready for anything."

"Fuck, " Hernandez swore. He sat there looking thunderously at the television for a few minutes. Then he got up and stalked off.

A few minutes later, Guerra came over. “You did well, Alvarez," Carmen was looking at him with a smile, but it was all teeth. Miguel thought of a shark. There was no way to read this.

Unnoticed by Miguel, Ryan had positioned himself to have a good view of the conversation and he definitely read Guerra's body language right. He was happy that Miguel had delivered good information.

 

After a few minutes, Miguel got up and went back to his pod. He lay down again and wasn't sure how long it was before Ryan came back. "You told them?"

"Yes."

"Good," Ryan lay on his bunk and looked in a magazine. He was trying to think of ways to get the dope to Hernandez. Miguel was doing good, but he wasn't sure about Hernandez trusting anything that Miguel might give him.

A week and a half went by, all the inmates of Em City on pins and needles. The tension was thicker than ever. Miguel and Ryan were the only ones it seemed who weren't worried about anything. Of course, no one else knew that. Miguel was doing a pretty good job feeding El Cid bogus information and his relationship was Guerra was improving way faster than Alvarez or O’ Reily ever anticipated. The moment to strike was soon.

When it struck, neither Ryan or Miguel expected it. Oz being Oz, of course the best-laid plans would go awry. In the end, it was all about Adebisi's lack of control. He wigged out one day and went after El Cid on his own. He didn't realize that Ryan had been spiking his tits. Ryan didn't expect him to blow so quickly. He didn't kill El Cid, but the fucker ended up in the hospital ward.

"This might work out even better- for slipping him a hot shot,” Ryan said.

The plan was for Miguel to slip the bad batch to El Cid while he was in the infirmary. He just needed to figure out a way for him to get it there without the hacks suspecting it was him that delivered the tits.

"Hasn't Guerra been working with you the last few weeks? Play it up and let him deliver the hit."

"I can do that. I'll slip it into his scrubs pocket, he won't even know I did it."

Ryan smiled, seeing the finish line right there in reach. Miguel's shift was starting in an hour. He had Ryan's batch in his pocket, ready to put the last piece into this fatal puzzle. Miguel had removed what was in Guerra's pocket- El Cid's usual hit. He dumped it out. He sure didn't want it and you never knew if Guerra was trying to fuck with El Cid, too. Miguel thought about getting Ryan to get some mota, some Kush to celebrate if this worked.

Miguel went about his work, keeping one eye on El Cid's bunk and one eye on Guerra. Guerra had wandered over to El Cid a few minutes earlier. Now, the trick was to keep everyone away so Hernandez wasn't noticed until the motherfucker was good and dead. Dr. Nathan wasn't on today, the other doctor was nervous and wouldn't ask questions.

"Hey, Guerra. Could you come and give me a hand?" Miguel needed to restock supplies, anyway.

"Sure, Alvarez. " Just to be safe, he grabbed Eduardo, although he knew that his dad was about as good as blending into the background as Rebadow was.

"Come on, with the three of us, we'll get this done in 20 minutes then we can kick back the rest of the shift, " Miguel told them.

About 15 minutes into stocking the shelves, the infirmary erupted in commotion. Eduardo poked his head out to see what was going on and signaled for Miguel and Chico to follow him back to the main part of the infirmary. There were nurses rushing to El Cid's bed, Dr. Perstopnik(sp?) in tow.

"What the fuck is going on?" Guerra asked in a hushed tone. All eyes in the ward were on Hernandez, everyone confused as to what could be wrong.

Miguel had to act oblivious, had to play up the concerned act so Guerra didn't question him.  
After several tense moments, the doctor let out an exasperated sign, a good sign to Miguel that the deed was done. "He's dead."

The smile barely stayed hidden from Miguel's face from hearing those two words. He'd never been so anxious for his shift to end in his life. Ryan was in a good mood. He knew if his plan worked they would be tossing everyone's pods in Em City, looking for the shit that killed Hernandez. He wasn't sure how long it would take for them to find how El Cid actually died. But guaranteed, the pods would be tossed. He had his stuff well hidden, outside the pods. Where no one would find it.

Sure enough, the rumor mill started to grind the second that El Cid breathed his last breath. It was all over that El Cid had died, but no one knew how. Or what had happened. One of the stranger versions that was currently going around was that Eduardo had gone insane and tried to cut out El Cid's tongue. Ryan wondered who had put that one out and briefly wondered if it was Miguel. It took him an hour to figure out that it was Adebisi. He should have known. The crazy fucker had knives on the brain.  
Ryan headed back to Em City.

Everything was ready for dinner so they were done for a while. Miguel showed up soon after. They had figured out that Hernandez had bought the farm via overdose pretty quickly. Maybe the powder residue in his nose was a giveaway. Anyway, they had searched and found nothing, so they had ordered all the inmates out of the infirmary. "It was fucking perfect, Ryan. Couldn't have asked for a better ending for that pendejo," the Latino was on Cloud 9, El Cid's demise lifting all the stress off his shoulders.

Ryan chuckled, a little thrown by the use of his first name. He'd only heard Miguel use it one time before, he could guess it was probably just the kind of mood he was in, or the fact that he and the Latino were kind of, sort of, almost friends. "We're definitely going to celebrate once some of the excitement dies down. I gotta admit we make a pretty good team. Stick with me, we could rule Em City." Miguel went to sleep happy. He hadn't felt this safe since before El Cid came to Oz. His dreams were bad, though. The familiar one about Rivera's eyes weeping blood. He woke up screaming.

"Hey, Hey, Miguel. Are you ok?" Miguel noted that Ryan sounded a bit freaked out.

He was disoriented and a bit embarrassed to have Ryan see him at his most vulnerable.  
"Yeah...just, sometimes I have these nightmares. About Rivera." He added the last part quietly, still ashamed to have done that to the CO.

Ryan nodded in understanding, having to physically resist reaching out to comfort the Latino.  
"I'm sorry, I normally don't scream like that. Didn't mean to wake you."

"No worries. Cyril used to have scream freak outs all the night," Ryan said, trying to lighten the mood. At the mention of his brother's name though, he felt lonely, even though he knew the younger man was in a much better place. Miguel felt Ryan's shift in mood.

"You miss him, don't you?"

"Yeah, " Ryan sighed. "I know that he's in a better place. Oz was no place for him. He will be safe and protected there. They will take care of him. But it's hard. I looked after him for so long. "

Miguel sat up, suddenly wishing that they had something in the Pod. He knew they didn't, but the thought it would be pleasant to be high with O’ Reily. "You said we'll celebrate. Get some green. Do you mind doing that?"

Ryan rolled over and looked at Miguel like he was stupid. "No, I haven't sworn off green," he said.

"Done. IT may take a minute. They are going to toss the pods tomorrow. I just know it. Then they'll put us on lock-down. "

Ryan had called it correctly, the next day, McManus called for a shakedown in Em City. Not that he was too worried about anything; he made sure to put his stash where it wouldn't be discovered. Adebisi wasn't so lucky however. The Nigerian would be spending some time in the hole, which actually helped Ryan and Miguel gain a little more action with the tits. The Irishman was able to get a few joints for he and Miguel though, and thanks to his connections with certain CO's, was able to buy an hour of time in one of the storage closets.

"You know that closet right outside the library? Meet me there after lunch today."

Miguel nodded, acting as though he wasn't too interested in what O’ Reily had to say before returning to the book he was reading.

Ryan got there before Miguel. He was waiting when the Latino slipped through the door.

"Look, " he said, showing Miguel the two joints he had scored. “Prime stuff. Medical".

Ryan lit one, inhaled and passed it to Miguel. Miguel took a hit and started coughing, and then he laughed as he passed it back to Ryan.

"You said if we stuck together we could run Em city. Explain." He took another hit of the joint that Ryan had passed him. He double tapped it and then passed it back. He was feeling the high-grade drug move through his system and lips turned up in a smile.

Ryan took a long hit, holding the good feeling smoke as long as he could. He let the smoke out easily, feeling the affects of it swimming in his head, loosening him up.

"We're two of the slickest people in here, Miguel. What we set up with El Cid was genius. Everyone here is all brawn, no brain. We got the perfect balance of both. I couldn't have picked a better partner to have my back." Normally he wouldn't have divulged that much information, but he was high as a fucking kite and he supposed Alvarez was a pretty good guy who he could trust these things with.  
Miguel felt his mouth drop open. This was high praise from the Irishman, indeed. He took another hit of the joint and held it in.

Exhaling, he gasped. " So, what's our next move? You're right. We work well together." Miguel was leaning against the wall, but he felt himself slip against Ryan. "Oops, " he said, surprised as he felt a flare of heat as their bodies touched.

Ryan made no move to separate his touch from Miguel. They were barely touching, but in his marijuana induced haze, it felt to good to give up. It had been a while since he'd been this close to someone, so he was relishing in the feeling. "Uh...that's a good question. Ask me again when I'm not high," the Irishman let out a chuckle, too relaxed to even start thinking about business. He knew he'd have to get it together soon though. They couldn't slack and let this new window of opportunity of Adebisi in the hole slip by.

Miguel started laughing too. It felt good to be high and close to Ryan. He threw an arm around the Irishman, barely conscious of what he was doing.

Ryan didn't seem to mind. "I brought two joints, but I think we can save the other one. We'll smoke it tomorrow. After we make hay from Adebisi being gone. "

"OK, " Miguel was too high to follow along for long. He felt floaty and happy.  
Eventually the two had to face reality and head back to Em City. Both were still pretty high but both were experts at keeping their shit together around other people. Ryan head off to the quad, mentioning something about playing checkers with Beecher. Miguel went back their pod, a nap sounding like the best thing in the world at that moment. He lay on his back, staring at the bottom of the bunk above him and just let his mind drift. He thought about the things Ryan had said in the closet, the way the two were pressed closed together, enjoying each others space. Couldn't shake the feeling of wanting that heat near him more often. Didn't really know what that meant. But he was still stoned enough to not really care too much at that point.

Ryan was having a hard time keeping his mind on the checkers. He kept thinking about Miguel. The warmth of his body, the closeness. The feeling that he had someone to watch his back. It was a good feeling. Beecher was in the middle of another lover's quarrel with Keller so he had that crazy look in his eye. “You're not paying attention, Ryan," Beecher admonished him. Ryan eventually gave up and wandered off to check out some Miss Sally. That didn't hold his interest either, so he wandered back to the pod for one of his travel magazines.

Miguel could always sense when the other man came into their pod somehow, and it always woke him up. This time was no exception. His head was only clouded with sleep now and he sat up in his bunk, thinking if he should mention what he'd been thinking about earlier. He decided against it for the time being, not really sure how to bring it up. “Beecher kick your ass at checkers?" He noticed how quiet Ryan was being, something the Irishman rarely ever was.  
"Yeah, " Ryan seemed too quiet, but Miguel let it go. The Irishman stayed quiet for the rest of the day.  
Miguel went to sleep peacefully but was plagued with another nightmare that night. This time it was the one about his son. He woke himself with his own screaming.

"Hey, Miguel. Calm down. Another nightmare?" Ryan hopped down from the top bunk.

"Yeah, " Miguel took a couple of deep breaths. "This one was about my son. My baby that died."

"Ah man, I'm sorry..." Ryan wasn't really sure what to say to the other man, he didn't have kids, never would. But he could imagine losing a child must be the hardest thing a person could deal with.  
Miguel remained silent, not able to shake the images of his dead son from his mind. He felt the tears welling in his eyes, but he willed himself not to cry in front of another man, especially that man.

Ryan reached out and rubbed his hand over Miguel's back and up to the back of his neck, trying to rub some of the tension out. Miguel relaxed into the touch, shutting his eyes tight to avoid spilling tears. He clenched his jaw and tried to get it together. Ryan's touch helped. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Ryan rubbing the back of his neck to ease out tension and Miguel clenching his jaw and shutting his eyes to avoid crying. Miguel felt himself center out, but was strangely reluctant to have Ryan quit touching him.

 

"Maybe we ought to steal some medicine from the pharmacy. To stop the bad dreams. Or you could tell Father Mukada about them. He would see that you got the right medication."  
Miguel was enjoying Ryan's touch too much to answer right away.

"Nah. My head's all messed up from all the stuff Dr. Nathan has me on anyway; I don't want to be medicated even more.” Miguel knew he was being stubborn and that the medicine would probably help, but the thought of more medicine didn't sit well with him. In the back of his mind he felt he could just grow out of them. Or Ryan's touch could help him...

He jerked away at the thought, not really ready to end the contact, but a bit thrown by his own thought. Ryan firmly placed his hand back on Miguel's neck and recommenced rubbing. "What's wrong with you?" he asked. "You've woken up screaming the past two nights. Your neck is like a wooden board. " Ryan wasn't about to tell the Latino that he didn't want to stop touching him. Sister Pete had mentioned a few weeks ago that Ryan liked to take care of people, albeit in his own twisted way.  
"Will you at least tell Father Mukada or Dr. Nathan about your nightmares?"

Miguel shrugged, leaning into Ryan's touch. "They might not give you any more drugs. You might have to talk to them or something."

Miguel gave a humorless snort. "Yeah, talk to Mukada. He's still thinks I'm crazy for slashing my face."

‘You are crazy,' Ryan thought. Aloud, he said, "What are you talking about? Why did you slash your face?"

"When they told me my baby was dying, I thought I could make a deal with God. Cut up my own face like I did the old man that messed up my car. In my mind, I thought that was the only way he might try to save my son," Miguel said, quietly reflecting on his past.

Ryan stayed quiet, not really realizing how much mental anguish the Latino had been through since coming to Oz. "Well, I still think talking to someone could help. You waking up like this every night isn't doing either of us any good."

Miguel sighed. "I'll think about it. I don't mean to keep waking you up."

"No problem," Ryan stopped rubbing Miguel's neck and got up to get back into his bunk.  
"Hey, O’ Reily. Thanks," Miguel stuck out his hand and Ryan shook it. Both men went back to bed and Miguel slept soundly for the rest of the night.

The next morning, before they went off to their jobs, Ryan told Miguel. "Hey, come by the storage closet. Around 1, after lunch. Everyone will be lulled and I can bribe the hacks to leave us alone. We'll smoke the other joint."

Miguel nodded.

Miguel slipped into the closet that afternoon, seeing Ryan leaning up against the wall, rolling the unlit joint between his thumb and forefinger. As soon as he noticed Miguel, he smiled, stepping toward the Latino. "Ready for some more stress relief?"

Miguel smirk, nodding in agreement before dropping to the floor, moving to sit up against the wall. Ryan sat next to him, their sides pressed lightly against each others. He wasted no time after that, put this joint between his lips and lighting it, taking a big hit before passing it to Miguel.  
"I need to look into getting us pot more often. I could get used to this."

"So could I," Miguel took a big hit. "It certainly makes the day go faster."  
"I guess it would for you. You went back to the pod and went straight to sleep," commented Ryan.

"Maybe that's why I had a nightmare," Miguel said lightly, passing the joint back to Ryan. "I was too rested."

"Hey, did you talk to Dr. Nathan?"

"No, " Miguel looked down. "I will say something to Father Mukada, though".

"That priest has a crush on you," Ryan felt unaccountably jealous as he made this statement.  
Miguel looked at him like he was crazy.

"No, he doesn't," Miguel looked shocked at the very suggestion.

(Inspired by re-watching season 1 and the scene where Mukada comes out of Miguel's pod and Miguel comes out with his shirt off)

Ryan snorted at that. "Are you kidding me? The dude comes to your rescue at any chance he gets. Don't see him helping anyone else out like that, man,"

"He's a priest for Christ's sake!" Miguel argued back, finding it ridiculous that Ryan would even think of that. He thought the Father was just trying to guide Miguel in the right direction.

"And if he did, why do you care?"

"I don't," Ryan was looking at his lap as he said it. He took a hit of the joint and passed it back to Miguel in silence.

Miguel thought about pursuing it and then thought about his own conflicted feelings about the Irishman. 'fuck it,' he decided. "Yes, you do," he stated. "Why?"

Ryan didn't really know how to answer the question without sounding like a jealous girlfriend. "I just don't think someone in his position should act the way he does toward an inmate."

Miguel laughed out loud at that, positive the Irishman had gone mad. "This coming from a man who thought he was in love with a staff member here. That's a bullshit reason and you know it."

Ryan bristled at the mention of his feelings for Gloria but said nothing on the matter.

"Forget it." Miguel slung an arm around Ryan's shoulders.

"No, I am not going to forget it." The weed had him floaty and had definitely lowered his inhibitions. "Father Mukada is only trying to help me, but you think he has a crush on me. And you care enough to bring it up in conversation. I ask again, what's it to you?"

Ryan was very conscious of Miguel's arm around his shoulders and how close he was. Those big brown eyes were looking at him curiously. He could tell the weed was loosening Miguel up way more than it probably should have and decided that if he was being that open with him, he could be that open for Miguel. "I don't know...I just don't like the idea of it. You're my friend, I feel like I should be the one helping you with stuff..."

Miguel smiled a bit at that. He and Ryan had become a lot closer since he'd come back to Em City and he found himself happy to hear that small confession from the Irishman. He pulled Ryan closer, his grip tightening just the tiniest bit. Ryan was now very conscious of Miguel's arm around him, of Miguel's eyes on him. The smile on the Latino's face. "You did help, Ryan," Miguel said. "Last night and the night before, you helped a lot."

Ryan looked pleased at this. "You were the one who suggested going to Mukada," Miguel reminded him.

 

"I know. That was before I really thought about it." Oops. The weed had loosened up Ryan quite a bit as well.

Miguel felt very happy. Ryan had said they were friends and he liked this idea. He liked working with the Irishman and he liked how they had taken out El Cid. "Hey- we never decided what to do with Adebisi gone," Miguel said suddenly.

Ryan was thankful for the change in subject, knowing if they stayed on topic he'd say something he'd probably regret later. "While Adebisi's out, we're gonna slowly take over his customers. Without him around, the homeboys won't be able to keep their shit together,"

Miguel nodded in understanding. Adebisi being in the hole was making their plans to pretty much run the whole tit trade so much easier. "Sounds easy enough."

Miguel went back to the pod after that, making an appointment to see Mukada. He wanted to wait until the weed wore off a bit before seeing the priest, although Mukada wasn't nearly as good at spotting someone high as Sister Pete was. They could have smoked a blunt of hydro and returned blasted out of their minds and Mukada wouldn't guess. Whereas one only had to take one hit on a pinner of a joint and Sister Pete instantly knew it if you had an appointment to see her.

Miguel was laying in the bunk, strangely thinking about how Ryan had said, "You're my friend" and feeling pretty warm inside when the priest arrived. "Miguel. How are you? You are looking much better."

"I feel better. I wanted to talk to you. "

"That's fine, Miguel. What did you want to talk about."

"I have been having nightmares. The past two nights I have woken O'Reily up screaming. He suggested that I talk to you."

Father Mukada listened intently as Miguel described his issues, taking note that the Latino's features didn't look distressed like they usually did. In fact, he didn't even sound all that upset. "What are your nightmares about?"

"Rivera and my son. Like always."

"I think the best plan of action would be to schedule some therapy sessions with Sister Peter Marie or possibly talk to Dr. Nathan about getting you on some stronger medi-"

"I don't want to take anymore shit," Miguel said, interrupting the priest. "And talking to Sister Pete is the same as talking to you. If I ain’t seen a change yet, I probably won't."

Father Ray just nodded quietly. He cleared his throat, approaching a different topic. "You know, Miguel, ever since you and Ryan became pod mates, your attitude has taken a positive twist. Has he been helping you with your issues?"

Miguel considered this. Being in the pod with Ryan had definitely helped. As had El Cid buying the farm. The weed sessions were fun. He was glad that Ryan was his friend. "He's my friend," he told Father Mukada. "He helps when I wake up screaming. We talk until I can go back to sleep."

Father Mukada nodded, looking pleased. "I am really glad that this is working out for you, Miguel and I am going to suggest that you talk to Ryan about your nightmares. You said he helped. Maybe he can continue to help."

Miguel nodded and Father Mukada left. He wasn't gone five minutes when Ryan appeared. "What did he say?"

"He told me I should talk to you about my nightmares." Miguel liked the look of surprise on Ryan's face at this statement.

"Oh? Why?"

"I guess he noticed the change in my attitude. Said I seem happier, in a better state of mind. He thinks you're the reason for that."

Ryan felt a sort of sense of pride for being accountable for Miguel's happiness. He also felt that irrational jealousy melt away. "Well if you need to come to me about anything, don't hesitate. Like I said, you're my friend. I'll do whatever I can to help you out." Ryan didn't realize how passionate he'd sounded, but Miguel definitely did. That night Miguel had a strange dream. He would sometimes dream about the riot and Father Mukada's bruised face. He felt bad that he hadn't protected the priest, although he still didn't feel bad about that guard.

This time, though, it was Ryan's bruised and bloody face that looked up at him. Miguel woke for the third night in a row with a scream. Ryan's feet hit the floor with a soft thud. "You OK, man?" he asked. He sat down on Miguel's bunk.

"No, " Miguel was shivering. Without thinking, he reached out and pulled Ryan into an embrace. "You were hurt," he whispered. Ryan held onto Miguel, trying to get the younger man to calm down. He was much more shaken up than the times before which worried him a bit.

"I was hurt? What happened?"

"I don't know man, you're face was all fucked up though..."

Ryan could tell Miguel wasn't calming down anytime soon, so he pushed the Latino over and climbed into the bunk next to him. He'd been in this point with Cyril countless times and just held Miguel, hoping to take his mind off of it. "It was just a dream man. Look at me. I'm fine. Nothing to be worried about, alright?" Ryan spoke softly in his ear. Ryan's breath in his ear caused a now familiar heat to course through his body and Miguel was also conscious of how close they were. Ryan was holding him tight, grounding him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is complete but on a brief hiatus


	2. Chapter 2

Miguel shook his head a little to clear it. "It was the riot, I think and you were hurt," he said after a minute.

Ryan laughed softly. "I'm not hurt and there's no riot now." He was silent for a minute. "Why do you think you dreamed that tonight?"

Miguel contemplated that for a moment. "Maybe because you and I have grown so close in the last few weeks. You're someone I care about now...its like I had no control over the situation. Couldn't protect you."

Ryan pulled him a bit closer, the hand wrapped around Miguel's body gently stroking his arm. He had the overwhelming urge to clasp their hands together, but remained still. "You don't have anything to worry about. I'm here, safe and sound with the intention of keeping you that way too." Miguel did feel safe. The problem of nightmares every night was bothering him. He didn't want to keep waking Ryan up.

Miguel was also aware that he and Ryan were lying in his bunk, embracing. There was no other word for it. But Miguel didn't want to move. What he wanted to do was pull Ryan closer. Being a crazy fuck, he went with this impulse. Pulling Ryan into a tight hug, he murmured. "Thanks, man. You've been really cool about this. You've really helped. " He noted that the Irishman wasn't trying to get out of his arms. Ryan remained silent, waiting until he heard Miguel's breath even out before reluctantly climbing out of his bunk back to his own. He expected himself to have conflicting thoughts with what had just happened, but the only thing in the Irishman's brain the rest of the night was how much he wanted to go back to being wrapped around Miguel.

The next day dragged on like every other day. Ryan still couldn't get the Latino out of his head. He'd been avoiding Miguel, not really ready to deal with what he might say or do. Instead he found Beecher, pulling up a chair at the table he was sitting at. "Hey Beech, what's up man?"

"O' Reily," Beecher greeted him back.

"I have to ask you something man, but keep it under your hat. "

"O-kay," Beecher said slowly.

"You were straight, right? I mean, you were married and you used to like girls."

"I still do like girls, Ryan, " Beecher grinned at him.

 

"So... you and Keller... doesn't that seem weird?"

Beecher started to look thunderous. "I don't mean anything by it. I'm just asking. Why you and Keller?"  
Beecher was silent for a long while.

Finally he spoke up. "Chris and I have a complex relationship. Its a matter of convenience since we're both here but...well, I care for him. I love him. You can't help who you love."

Ryan sat and quietly pondered that. He cared about Miguel, that much was evident but did he have feelings for the guy? Ryan was silent for a minute. He knew that he could share more with Beecher than the other assholes in here, but it didn't necessarily mean that he wanted to share everything.   
"Why do you ask?" Beecher asked quietly, noting how thoughtful Ryan seemed

"I was just asking, " he said. " Wondering." He wandered off. He was in the hall with the storage closet, and he wasn't really thinking about it, but it was close to the time when he had met Miguel the past two days. He hadn't made any plans with him today nor had he gotten any weed, but he didn't resist sticking his head inside.

"What the fuck took you so long?" Miguel was standing inside holding a joint. "Hurry the fuck up."

Ryan smiled deviously at the Latino before hurrying into the small closet, making sure to lock it behind him.

"You are my hero, man. This is totally what I need right now."

Miguel wasted no time lighting it, passing it to the Irishman after a modest hit. "I haven't seen you all day man. Where you been?"

Ryan held the sweet smoke a little longer than normal. "Just...around. Hanging out with Beecher, keeping an eye on the scumfucks around here."

Miguel seemed to accept that answer, the drug taking effect on his mind. This stuff was good, not as good as what Ryan had been getting. But it made his body feel boneless. He rested against O' Reily again, resting his head on his shoulder.

"This stuff makes me feel boneless," he let out with a giggle. Ryan wrapped an arm around Miguel, gripping his bicep to help keep him upright.

"Easy there, Alvarez." He passed the joint back with his other hand. Miguel took another hit and kept giggling. Ryan couldn't help it. He joined in. This stuff seemed to have a rather silly effect to it. They would laugh the next ten minutes and then really get the munchies. He better get into the kitchen and grab a couple of candy bars. Adebisi wasn't there to guard them, anyway.

 

Ryan couldn't help thinking that this was where he and Miguel belonged, together, close. "You're right where you belong," he said happily. Whoa. That just slipped out.

Miguel kept giggling, glancing up at Ryan after that. "I am, aren't I? I love this, us just away from everyone and everything. It’s nice."

Ryan smiled at that. This weed was making them awfully ballsy, but he liked that. Liked knowing there was someone he could just shoot the shit with and be himself around. He glanced down and saw Miguel still staring up at him. His face was so close he could faintly feel the younger man’s breaths across his own face. He closed his eyes and leaned into it, finding comfort in the feeling. Miguel wasn't sure how it happened, but he was kissing Ryan O' Reily. And it was really nice. Better than nice actually. Miguel hadn't kissed anyone since he'd been in here and this was definitely working for him.    It wasn't like it hadn't crossed Miguel's mind, especially about Ryan. He just didn't think the Irishman would actually act on it. What the fuck was in this weed? When the two finally did pull away from each other's lips, they remained close, Miguel resting his forehead against Ryan's.

"You okay?"

Ryan let a smile slip and nodded a bit. "I'm great. You?" Miguel agreed by pressing his lips back against Ryan's gently. They stayed pressed together in a comfortable silence. "This is kinda crazy. Never thought I'd be in this situation with another man."

"Me neither," said Miguel. "But I was in Solitary. I hurt so bad I wanted to die. I tried to die. I am not questioning anything good that comes into my life and you've been good. You've looked out for me and you've helped me." He leaned in and kissed his friend again. "But we should probably get out of here. I only greased the guard for like 20 minutes."

When they finally left the closet and parted ways, Ryan felt a sense of calmness he hadn't felt in some time. He wasn't really sure what that made him and Miguel, he was just glad the Latino seemed to be on the same page. He headed to the TV's, sitting down to enjoy some Miss Sally. It didn't interest him in the least, but he wasn't really paying too much attention anyway. His mind was stuck on Miguel.   
Miguel went to the pod and lay down. He was still tired from all the shit in his head and the weed was at least allowing him to have a nap now and then. He would meet with Father Mukada again tomorrow and have to tell him that so far, his nightmares had not receded.

On the other hand, he wouldn't mind Ryan crawling into bed with him again, not that he necessarily wanted to wake up screaming in order for him to do it. Miguel had thought about the next step-mutual satisfaction-a lot but he wasn't sure if Ryan had. He looked up to see the Irishman enter the pod, the door hissing behind him.  "Here's your candy, " he handed Miguel the promised candy bar.

"Thanks man," he smiled up in appreciation, the small gesture sending a warm feeling through him. Ryan sat in the chair across from Miguel's bunk, reclining back a bit.

"I don't know what's going on between us, but I enjoy it. I don't know how you feel about it, but it just feels right, man."

Miguel hadn't expected such a brazen statement, but was satisfied nonetheless. "I like it too. A lot." That night, Miguel didn't have a nightmare and both he and Ryan woke the next morning, slightly disappointed. The awkwardness that Ryan had felt the previous morning had completely disappeared.   
"Meet me same time same place, " Miguel told him. "I think I can get some better stuff than what we had yesterday."

Ryan smiled. He enjoyed their daily smoking sessions. It was fun, harmless (unless they got caught). It broke up the monotony of the day and yesterday, there had been kissing.

"Ok," he told Miguel before heading off to the kitchens, Miguel to the hospital. That afternoon, freed from his shift in the infirmary and with a greased guard (paid off from profits taken from new customers who had been pilfered from Adebisi) Miguel went to the small storage room. Ryan was already there.

"Hey, " he said to Miguel, leaning in for a kiss before showing him a joint that he had scored. Miguel held up his own score and they both laughed.

After their daily smoke sesh, the two men just relaxed, enjoying the effects of the weed. Ryan slid back, extending his legs out in front of him. Miguel took that as an invitation to make himself comfortable so he slid onto his side, resting his head in Ryan's lap. The Irishman glanced down at him, before running his fingers through his hair.

"Tonight, after lights out...will you lay down with me for a bit? It helps."

Ryan nodded his head; excited the other man was okay with that. "Whatever you need, Miguel."

"I need a kiss, "Miguel pulled Ryan down for a slow, deep kiss that lasted a couple of minutes.

When they parted, Miguel sat up and checked the cheap watch on his wrist. Eduardo had given it to him, slipping it into his hand a couple of days back. When he got back to his pod, Miguel read the note with it. 'Perhaps your abuelo lost himself because he lost time'. Miguel had been oddly touched by the gesture. It was the first thing Eduardo had ever given him. "I've got to go," he told Ryan now. "I have to meet with Father Mukada. "

Ryan pulled him down for one more kiss before letting him go.

Father Mukada greeted Miguel cheerfully. "You look better. Are you still having nightmares?"

"I didn't last night, but I did have one the night before. Ryan helped me talk it out. It freaked me out because he was in it. It wasn't one of the usual ones."

"The usual ones?"

"Yeah, I usually dream about my baby. My son. Or I dream about Rivera. "

Father Mukada was surprised at this but glad that Miguel brought this up. They needed to talk about Eugene Rivera. "You dream about Rivera?"

"Yeah, " Miguel looked really agitated. "I dream about what I done to him. His eyes weeping blood. I feel so bad about that. But, it was his eyes or my life."

"I have been thinking about that. You know there's the new restitution program. It gives a chance for the person wronged and the person who wronged him to meet and for you to make some kind of amends."

"Amends? I took his sight. There's no amends for that."

"Perhaps not, but you can try. Rivera's willing to try, too. And, there's something else. There's going to be a new service dog-training program starting. Guys are going to sign up to help train dogs to help disabled people. Maybe you can train a dog for Rivera. It takes about a year to train them, though."

It had been a week since Miguel had agreed to do these meetings with Rivera. They still hadn't had their first meeting, but Miguel was nervous. He knew it would take time and there was no guarantee the CO would even listen to Miguel or accept his apology. No matter how sincere he might sound, there's no excuse for blinding a man for life all for acceptance into a gang that didn't even have his back.   
He'd been pacing the pod every night that week and tonight was no different. It was a good hour after lockdown and Miguel's mind was going a mile a minute.

Ryan glanced over, seeing the Latino make his thousandth pass across the floor. He was pretty tired of it; nothing he said or did was really getting through to him though. "Miguel...for the love of God, lay down and try to get some sleep. You pacing and worrying all night isn't doing you the least bit of good."

Miguel just continued pacing as though he didn't even hear Ryan. Ryan got down from his bunk and put his body in front of Miguel. "Hey, lay down," he told Miguel. "This isn't doing you any good. And, it's driving me crazy. " Miguel just looked at him. "Why don't you take one of your pills?" Miguel had a supply of Xanax, courtesy of Dr. Nathan, for when he was really agitated. It was the mildest dose- just enough to take the edge off and allow him to relax a bit.

 

Miguel did as Ryan suggested and lay in his bunk. "Will you lay here with me?" he asked Ryan. Ryan joined him on the bed, curling his body around Miguel's. "I don't know what I'm gonna say to him. I mean, how the fuck am I supposed to fix this situation?"

Ryan kissed the back of Miguel's neck, rubbing his stomach lightly. "When you finally meet with him, you'll figure it out. And this isn't to fix things...its to give you both some closure."

Miguel knew he was right. He just didn't know if it would be enough. "When that lady with the seeing eye dog program comes, I'm gonna sign up. Train a dog for Rivera. Its the least I can do,"

Miguel turned on his other side to face Ryan, deciding to drop the subject for the night. He wrapped himself tighter around the Irishman, finding his mouth in the dark. This is what he needed right now.   
Ryan couldn't believe it had been a little less than two weeks since he and Miguel had...redefined their friendship. It seemed like so much longer, like they had always been like this. He kissed Miguel enthusiastically, using his hands to touch Miguel's skin. His hands drifted below Miguel's waistband and he heard his lover gasp.

"Touch me, baby," Miguel gasped. Ryan kissed him and did as he asked, wrapping his hands around Miguel's hard cock. Miguel groaned in pleasure when Ryan wrapped his hand around him. He buried his face in the other man's neck, pressing sucking kisses every now and then. He reached down, sliding his own hand into Ryan's boxers, matching his strokes to Ryan's.

Ryan moaned, pulling Miguel tighter against him. "Fuck Miguel...faster please,"

Miguel obliged, pulling Ryan's cock completely free of his boxers. He pushed Ryan onto his back breaking the contact for a bit before resting his body against his. Ryan pulled his member free as well and Miguel pressed them together, feeling the friction of their cocks sliding together. Miguel reached for something he had snagged from the Infirmary, hospital grade lube. It made these sessions a lot more pleasurable. He squirted some on his hands and wrapped them around both of their erections.   
Ryan's breath hitched and he let out a low moan. One of his hands snaked around Miguel's neck while the other one drifted down to join Miguel's two hand wrapped around both of their cocks.

"Yes, "Ryan panted, the lube providing more than enough friction.

"You like that, baby?" Miguel's breath tickled in his ear.

"Yes...fuck, yes," Ryan was panting. Miguel captured his lips again.

"Then come for me," Miguel growled. Ryan's toes curled as his body did, as Miguel demanded. After that, Miguel was able to sleep peacefully.

The next morning, he was called into Father Mukada's office. "What's up?"

The priest smiled softly at Miguel before leading him deeper into his office. Sitting there was Rivera, oblivious to Miguel's presence. The younger Latino stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Mukada.   
"I thought we weren't doing this for a few days?"

At the sound of his voice, Rivera perked up. "I requested it, Alvarez."

"Why?" asked Miguel, shaken to his core at the sight of Rivera and his dark glasses.

"Because I needed to know. Why did you do this to me?"

Miguel was silent for a long while.

"What made you go straight? What made you stop being in Los Diablos? Or did you?"

"My wife was pregnant. We had a little girl, but she had a lot of problems. She only lived a few weeks."

At this, Miguel felt a strange kinship with Rivera.

"You had a personal beef with El Cid. What was it?"

Rivera was glad his wife had decided to stay home this time. This was getting very personal.

"I...I, uh, took his cousin's virginity. I left her high and dry afterwards." Rivera's voice got very, very quiet.

Father Mukada looked shocked. He didn't know of either Rivera's previous gang membership nor of his personal history with El Cid.

"He told you that you had to prove your loyalty, right? My sight or your life."

"I didn't have a choice," Miguel whispered. "I dream about it."

"Hey, so do I," Rivera gave a humorless laugh. He stood up. "Father, I'm done for now. I'll maybe come back next week. "

Father Mukada called for a guard to return Miguel to Em City.

Ryan was laying in his bunk reading when Miguel came in. "What'd Father Ray want?"

"Rivera came today. Told me a lot of shit about El Cid I didn't know."

Miguel folded his arms on Ryan's bunk, resting his head against them. He didn't say much else after that, not really knowing how to take the new information. Rivera didn't seem to come across as angry or spiteful as he'd expected. And the news of his daughter put him in a new light to Miguel. He hoped the CO would keep coming back for more interactions. He had a strong feeling they would help.

Ryan put a hand to the back of Miguel's neck, rubbing some of the tension out. He wasn't able to rub as long as he'd like, it was well before lockdown and he didn't want all eyes on them knowing their business. "You okay?"

"No," said Miguel, sighing. "What I really want is to get fucking high and forget all about it. I'm thinking about doing a small hit of H"

Ryan looked up at that. Neither of them had really fucked around with H for a while- Ryan because he did not want to get fucked up and have to detox again. Miguel got good shit from the infirmary, plus being prescribed stuff.

"If you feel it's that serious," Ryan began but was distracted by the activity outside. Miguel opened the door in time to hear the guards go "Lockdown. We're in lockdown."

"Shit," both Ryan and Miguel swore together. Seeing Beecher and Keller head towards their pod, Ryan asked.

“What the fuck happened?"

"I don't know. Someone got shanked in gen pop, but I don't know over what." 

Well, that was helpful. No one else had any more information and they were now locked in the pod. Miguel was looking pretty agitated and Ryan knew that the pacing would begin again, soon.   
"Fuck it, let's both do a little," said Ryan, reaching into his pocket for what he usually sold.

"Just a little, " Miguel cautioned. "Not enough to fuck us up too bad just take the edge off. "  
Ryan nodded and pulled out a little for each.

After they did it, they both found that it did take the edge off. Miguel sat down on his bunk and Ryan took the chair. "You want to tell me what happened?" Ryan asked.

"Like I said, Rivera was there. He knew why I did it. It was personal between him and El Cid. "   
Miguel's mind suddenly slipped back, the heroin in his system making his mind slip to the memory easily.

"Make a whore out of her, will her?" El Cid's piggy eyes bulged out of his head as he ranted in their pod. Miguel had no idea what he was ranting about. "She's simple. She believes him. He says, we are married. Gets one of his friends to pretend to be the priest. Moves her into a shitty apartment. He not only takes her virginity, he exercises perversions on her. Tells her if she loves him she has to let his friends watch. Then tells her if she loves him she has to fuck his friends. She's simple. She does what he says. Then he turns her out. Pendejo! "

Miguel's mind slipped back to the present. "He didn't entirely tell the truth, " Miguel said aloud.

"What? " Ryan was startled out of his daze. They were having a slower conversation, due to the H.   
"Rivera. He said something during the session. He said he took Hernandez' s cousin's virginity. That he left her high and dry. It was more than that. I just remembered something El Cid said. He was ranting. It didn't make sense at the time."

The heroin in both men's systems was making conversation hard to follow, but Ryan managed.   
"Maybe he left it out for a reason. Are you going to see him again?"

Miguel shrugged, remembering Rivera's words. "Maybe. Its up to him. And who knows if he'll tell me with Father Ray and possibly his wife there."

Conversation pretty much halted after that, both men caught up in the affects of the H. Miguel rested against the wall in his bunk, signaling for Ryan to sit next to him. The Irishman sat next to him, being aware of the spacing between them. Lights were still on in Em City and he didn't think Miguel would appreciate people watching their interactions.

Miguel was too far gone by that point however and felt the need to be close to Ryan. He closed the space, resting his head on Ryan's shoulder and wrapping an arm across his body. "Miguel," Ryan said warningly. "Lights are still on."

"So?" Miguel's voice was a bit slurred. "You're a grabby fucker anyway, everyone knows that. Everyone will think we're high sitting together anyway."

Ryan realized that Miguel had a point that he wasn't so high that he didn't know what he was doing. 

"Besides," continued Miguel. "Look over at Beecher and Keller. They are not even waiting for night. Also look at Adebisi and Wrangler.”

To tell truth, Ryan didn't want to actually look and see what the other men were doing, but he did. Sure enough, Keller and Beecher were wrapped around each other and Wrangler was lying down with Adebisi staring at him like he wasn't waiting for night, either. Truth be told, the hacks could care less what happened in the cells during lockdown. They loved lockdown. For the guards that were bringing in tits, it was a chance to replenish their supply. For the rest, it was rest. The only ones bitching were the civilians that were actually assigned to the laundry and kitchen. With the lockdown, they actually had to work. Lockdown lasted longer than everyone anticipated and after 3 days, Em City was back in business. While Miguel went off for another interaction with Rivera, Ryan was busy making up for lost time, making as many sales as possible, and listening for information. He bought a few joints as well, figuring out during the lockdown they were both better of with weed. Heroin would be saved for emergency situations only.

On his way back to their pod, Beecher stopped him. "What's up with you and Alvarez?"

The bluntness of the question threw him off, but only for a split second. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Beecher tipped his head in the direction of Ryan's pod and the two men walked in, giving themselves more privacy.

"During the lockdown, I woke up in the middle of the night and saw you in his bed." Ryan's mouth dropped open and he managed to say, "Uh, um...ah…what the fuck did you see?"

Beecher looked over at him. "Just what I said. I saw you in his bed."

Ryan decided to play it cool. "Alvarez has nightmares. He dreams about Rivera and about his baby that died. "

Beecher nodded and then said, "So... nightmares necessitate you climbing into his bed?"

"Yeah, he gets pretty agitated. It's like when Cyril had nightmares." Beecher seemed to accept the excuse, but Ryan knew if they weren't more careful, they wouldn't be so lucky next time. Beecher left the pod shortly after and Ryan made a beeline for his and Miguel's storage closet. He hadn't left word for him to meet up but he figured if he went back to Em City and saw Ryan wasn't in the pod, he'd be here.

He took a seat against the hard stonewall, not even bothering to wait for Miguel to show up. He lit the joint, waiting for that wonderful haze to overcome his brain. About halfway through the joint, Ryan was thoroughly fucked up. He stubbed it out and rested his head back. At that same moment, the door opened revealing the Latino.

Miguel wasn't expecting a thick cloud of smoke to be greeting him when he entered.   
"Why didn't you wait for me?"

Ryan turned his head and looked up lazily. "Beecher's catching onto us." Miguel crossed the small room and took the joint from Ryan, lighting it and inhaling.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, still holding in the smoke.

"He says he woke up during lockdown and saw me in your bunk."

"Shit," Miguel exhaled the smoke. Lockdown had been torture for them after that first day with the H. H was good for killing the sex drive. They couldn't touch, kiss or show affection during the day. They made up for it at night, sleeping during the day. From the position of the bunks, Beecher would have seen that there were two people (2 pairs of feet) in Miguel's bed but not much beyond that. Still, they had gone at it pretty hot and heavy the second and third nights in lockdown. Miguel took another hit and then turned to Ryan, grabbing the back of his head for a kiss. Miguel couldn't believe that he got this turned on over a man.

 

"So, what do you want to do, baby?" Miguel asked. Ryan stole another kiss before replying to Miguel's question.

"I don't want to stop this, if that's what you're asking. We need to be more careful. Get off here when we can, move up to my bunk." No matter how risky things got, Ryan didn't think he could go back to how things used to be. He was used to regular sex and companionship. And the sex was awesome. The more time he spent with this man, the easier it became to deal with everything. The daily stresses of Oz, missing Cyril, his loneliness.

Miguel seemed to be on the same page, pulling Ryan into another kiss, which quickly turned into a lengthy make-out session. When they finally pulled apart, Miguel spoke up. "I wouldn't stop this for the world, baby. We need to also think about what we're going to do if someone does find out, " Miguel continued.

"I've given it some thought," said Ryan. "We're going to have to kick a lot of ass fast if we do get found out-starting with our own gangs."  Miguel was gratified that Ryan could see beyond if they did get caught.

 

Actually, both the Irish and the Latino's were happy with everything right now. Pancamo was controlling 1/3 of the tit trade, Ryan and Miguel and their respective gangs running most of the other 2/3 with a few drips and drabs going to the homeboys since Adebisi lost most of his customers. The big African had gotten out of the hole and was working to regain his footing in the tit trade and to make up for lost time doing H. He really didn't have the supply right now since his main boy Wrangler had lost his connect on the outside after his girlfriend got arrested and her parents moved her to another state. He was working on getting a backup connect but for right now, it was all he could do to keep himself and the homeboys supplied with tits, let alone anyone else in the prison.

 

After their smoke session, Miguel headed up to the pod for his nap. He had slept when he woke to the hiss of the door being opened. It was Rebadow. "Hey Rebadow. What do you want, old man?" Miguel tried to sit up.

 

"You shouldn't hide the fact that you're in love with O' Reily." Miguel stopped and stared at Rebadow. Why the fuck was everyone on their case today?

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Miguel asked, chuckling to downplay the situation.

Rebadow didn't buy it. "God told me, Miguel. It’s obvious to see how the two of you have changed since you came back to Emerald City. Admit it to yourself and him. It'd do you some good."  
Before Miguel could even argue his point, the older man turned and left.

The Latino let out a frustrated groan and threw himself onto his back. What Rebadow had said wasn't too far from the truth. He didn't think any of the other inmates could tell, but Miguel had definitely questioned the strength of his feelings for Ryan on more than one occasion. He rolled onto his side, slipping into a fitful sleep.

Meanwhile, Ryan had an appointment with Sister Pete, who realized she hadn't seen Ryan since Cyril had been moved and she wanted to check his mental state. "So, how are you, Ryan?" she asked.

"Fuck me. Do you know how Cyril is?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. I have heard from the hospital. They say Cyril has settled in beautifully. He'll be allowed to send mail soon and they have the address here."

Ryan looked very happy at this. "So, how are you doing?" Sister Pete asked him.

"Good, I'm doing good. "

"How's it working out in the pod with Alvarez." she inquired.

"Good," he said. "You know, Sister, you said I needed someone to take care of. I think you're right."

"What do you mean?"

"Miguel has nightmares. He needs me. I talk with him about it when he wakes up screaming."

Sister Pete looked shocked at this. She hadn't done a follow-up evaluation on Alvarez because he had showed such improvement.

"Miguel has nightmares? "

"Bad ones, " Ryan said. "He's been talking it over with me. That's what Father Ray told him to do."

Sister Pete sat and listened to Ryan tell her about Miguel's nightmares. From the sounds of it, Father Ray had been right in suggesting Miguel talk to Ryan about it. She'd heard through the grapevine of his and Rivera's interactions.

"Has he told you about his meetings with Officer Rivera?"

"He doesn't talk too much about them but I think it’s helping him."

Sister Pete seemed pleased to hear that. "How is it helping you out, Ryan? This is the most stable I think I've ever seen you." Ryan stared at Sister Pete. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you like taking care of Miguel. How does Miguel take care of you? He must, or you wouldn't be so centered. "

Ryan thought about it. Miguel did have his back that was for sure. Take the situation with Adebisi. The big African hadn't been happy to come out of the hole and find that his customers had shuffled off to either Pancamo, or Miguel and Ryan. It was well known that they were working together to control the tit trade and both gangs were happy with it.

Adebisi had always flirted with Ryan, calling him "pretty", getting too close. Ryan had always stood his ground and Adebisi had never taken it any further. But, when Miguel and Ryan went to talk to him after he got out of the hole (right before the lockdown), he made a comment about Ryan's "pretty Irish ass", which Miguel didn't react well to at all.

He couldn't say anything directly about the comment, but his eyes got fire in them and he leaned forward and told Adebisi if he didn't back the hell off them he would cut his eyes out. Miguel in full crazy mode is a scary thing indeed and even Adebisi looked a bit chilled. He knew he had no juice anyway to help him control the tit trade. Him losing his source and being on the outs with Pancamo didn't help at all.

 

"Yeah, Miguel has my back, " he said.

Ryan entered their pod a short time later, not at all surprised to see Miguel sleeping. As he hopped up onto his bunk to enjoy a bit of reading, he could hear the younger man thrashing around and muttering things in Spanish. He leaned his head over the ledge to check on him. The look on his face was enough to make Ryan jump down and try to shake him awake.

"Miguel, hey man, you're having another nightmare,"

Miguel's eyes snapped open and when they finally focused on Ryan's, he moved away a bit. "Rebadow knows too much..."

"Rebadow," Ryan laughed. He sat down on the opposite side of Miguel's bed, lounging against the frame.

"No, I'm serious," Miguel sat up and drew his feet in. "The man came in here and told me not to hide the fact that I am in love with you."

Ryan's mouth dropped open. "Are you in love with me?"

"That sounds so girly. What do I know about love? I know I like hanging out with you and I like being your pod mate and you help me when I have nightmares and I love hanging out, getting high and slinging tits with you. And the sex is great. I know that Adebisi better not look at your ass again."

"Would you really put his eyes out?"

"No, " Miguel shook his head. "I was just saying, with him it's the only thing that would get him to back off. He won't be a problem."

Ryan nodded at that in agreement, but his mind wasn't really all that concerned with Adebisi. What Miguel had just admitted sounded really close to his definition of love. But then again, he had a failed marriage and a woman he thought he loved who could barely look at him. Maybe he didn't know what the word meant either.

He did know that he mirrored what Miguel was feeling. And Miguel's spike of jealousy toward the African made him feel good. "Remember when I told you I thought Father Mukada had a crush on you?"

Miguel nodded for him to continue.

"I didn't like how close he was to you. I wanted to be that close. I was...jealous, I guess."

Miguel let out a light laugh.

"I figured that much, baby. You're not very good at hiding your emotions.

"Do you think that Father Mukada still has a crush on me?" Miguel was curious if Ryan was still jealous.

'Yes," Ryan said. Father had come to the pod a couple of times since they had become roomies and Ryan definitely saw Father Mukada checking out Miguel's body. The weird thing is that it didn't seem like the Father was conscious of doing it. Like he was checking Miguel and didn't realize he was checking Miguel.

Ryan continued to explain himself. "Don't you notice the way he looks at you? Every time he comes in here, he's practically undressing you with his eyes."

Miguel could help the small smirk that crossed his face hearing Ryan explain the priest's apparent behavior around him. "Even if what you're saying is true, he ain't ever gonna act on it. He's a fucking priest."

Ryan shrugged, knowing he didn't really have anything to worry about, but not really satisfied with it.   
"Adebisi on the other hand..." Miguel continued. "That motherfucker would try to make a move. I don't trust that shit."

"Don't worry about Adebisi. I've worked with him in the kitchen for three years and he's never tried a thing. "

"But he wants to," Miguel stated.

"Well, yeah, but he won't do anything. It's hard to explain. You probably have him watching us now with your macho bullshit. 'I'll cut your eye out and show it to you- and you know I'll do it, fuckwad' " Ryan quoted Miguel perfectly. 

Truth was, Miguel's jealous reaction had reassured Ryan, as had his earlier speech. He loved knowing their feelings were mutual.

 

The door hissed and Chris Keller came in. "Hello, ladies, " he greeted them cheerfully.

Both men tensed slightly at his presence, knowing that any number of things could be going on when Keller was around. "What? Neither of you assholes are gonna greet me?"

Miguel just rolled his eyes.

"What do you need, K-Boy?"

Keller seemed to take that as an acceptable greeting and continued. "So when are you two gonna come out of the closet already?"

Ryan was trying to keep it together, downplay it to the other man but Miguel killed that idea. "What the fuck! Why is it anyone’s goddamn business?"

"Fuck!" Miguel stormed out and wandered towards the TV to catch some Miss Sally.

"What the fuck did Beecher say?'

"Beyond telling me about the two of you being cozy in Miguel's bed?"

Ryan shrugged, "Yeah, beyond that."

"Well, " Keller smirked. "Once he pointed it out to me, I counted. Your feet were in his bed for a whole seven hours. That ain't just comforting someone after a nightmare.

"Christ." Ryan should've known Beecher was going to gossip with Keller. The upside was that only those two knew (and Rebadow, but he wouldn't talk) and since Ryan was friendly with them, it wouldn't go any farther. Keller seemed to notice Ryan's look of panic.

"I ain’t gonna say shit. I just think it's funny...kinda cute that Macho Man Miguel Alvarez and Ryan "I ain't no fag" O' Reily are banging."

Ryan glared at the other man but said nothing, not wanting to piss him off and make the situation worse.

"Besides, even if people did find out, no one would fuck with you. Look at me and Toby. Anyone says anything I just beat the shit out of them. Simple as that."

That was exactly what Ryan had told Miguel a short time ago, but it was different hearing it coming back at him. Keller wanted to gossip, though. "So, how did it happen? Were you guys together before you decided to share a pod?"

"No," said Ryan, not wanting to talk about it with Keller but not wanting to piss the guy off, either.

"So you hooked up after being pod mates? That's common," Keller smirked at his reference to him and Beecher.

"So who's the prag?' Keller looked lascivious at this question.

"That's really fucking personal, but if you must know we haven't gotten that far yet. "

Keller nodded like his suspicions were confirmed. "Then nobody will fuck with you at all."

After avoiding a few more questions, Keller finally left the pod, seeming satisfied at the bit of information he'd received. Ryan decided to stay in the pod, figuring if he spent too much time around Miguel in the quad, people might notice. He was probably just paranoid, but he'd rather be safe than sorry. Miguel didn't bother heading back to the pod until lockdown that evening, needing some time to clear his head. When they were finally locked in for the night, he lay in his bunk, keeping space for anyone who might be looking.

"Miguel, you don't have to freak out. Only Keller knew and he's not gonna say shit."

"I know, " said Miguel. He stood up behind the bunk- by the desk. No one could see into the pod from here.

"Do you have any weed?" Ryan did. He had been slinging tits for hospital grade weed, or Miguel had been stealing it from the Infirmary. Dr. Nathan kept it around for the AIDS or Cancer patients. The legislature had made it legal in the state for medical reasons, but only the very ill could get it right now. Dr. Nathan had promised to personally prescribe it for every prisoner in OZ once the restrictions were lifted. Warden Glenn was furious but the hacks surprisingly thought it was a good idea (the hacks were into anything that calmed the prisoners the fuck down. A prison full of stoned prisoners was their ideal-even if they didn't admit it on the news. It was the reason so many of them brought in tits). Ryan got down and joined Miguel behind the bunk.

 

"I've been thinking," said Ryan as he hit the joint.

"What?" said Miguel.

"I really don't care if people find out. Ain't either of us taking it up the ass so what's the big deal. No one has to know how we really feel."

"How we really feel?" Miguel echoed Ryan's words.

"What you said earlier- how you felt about me. It's mutual. It's definitely mutual."

Miguel smiled at that, pulling Ryan toward him for a quick kiss. "So does that mean we can fool around in here whenever we want now?"

Ryan nodded, rubbing a hand under the hem of Miguel's shirt. They'd still have to be careful around the hacks, but aside from that, he wasn't going to hide what he felt for the Latino. They'd both found some sort of happiness in the other and if people had something to say about it, then Miguel and Ryan could answer that with their own set of consequences.

"Not saying it will happen but...what if we do start fucking? I mean Beecher and Keller go at it and from the sounds coming from their pod, it ain't half bad."

Ryan was a little shocked to hear that question from Miguel but he knew he'd be lying if he hadn't thought about it before either.

Ryan smiled at that. "I've thought about it too-a lot-but even with the hospital grade lube, I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with that yet. I can't get past the idea that your dick in my ass is going to hurt. "

"Wait, what, huh?" The weed had slowed Miguel's brain down and it took a second. "You've been thinking about me fucking you, baby?"

"Yeah," Ryan put the joint and ate the roach. "I mean, I thought about it the other way too, but I figured that you would be too freaked out by the idea."

"I am," said Miguel. "But I've thought about it a little, too. You fucking me. I figured you wouldn't let me fuck you."

Both men laughed a little. It was telling, though neither of them said so, that neither of them wanted to make the other one submit. That each had fantasized about his own submission. Of course, they didn't think about it that way. They weren't that complicated.

"Well, if it ever gets to that point, we'll take turns. I don't want either of us to be a prag to the other. Fuck that. This is an equal deal."

Miguel smiled at that, liking the fact that they wouldn't have to worry about who the wife would be in their relationship. Both men were too strong-minded to be beneath the other. That might work out for Keller and Beecher, but that wouldn't be happening for them. Miguel pushed Ryan away a little so he could get past him to lay on his bed. Ryan stood there awkwardly, not really knowing if Miguel was ready to start being open with lights on yet.

"The fuck are you waiting for? Come lay with me, baby." Ryan looked around. No one could really see them. The lights outside were dim and only the pod lights were on. They would go off pretty soon.

Ryan slid onto the bed next to Miguel. Propping himself up on one arm, he said to Miguel. "We have a huge pair of tits arriving tomorrow. Adebisi is going to try and push us into allowing him to push them to the homeboys."

"Fuck that," answered Miguel. "He doesn't push shit. We control all the tits going out. And who sucks on them."

Outside the pod, 'Em City' was buzzing.

Since all they were doing was laying there and talking, everyone was wondering what was going on.   
Then the lights went out and Ryan and Miguel were given the privacy to be able to be close. Miguel pulled Ryan in for long slow kisses.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, the tits arrived. As Miguel prepared his boys to run with it and Ryan prepared his, they were both fielding versions of the same question "What the fuck were the two of you doing in the same bed?" to which they gave the same answer "Are you unhappy with the new arrangement? Are you unhappy with how the tits are run? Then don't worry what we were doing in the same bed. Ain't neither one of us a prag." And with that the subject was closed. The gang probably wouldn't have taken it so well, but Ryan and Miguel rolled pinners of the hospital grade weed to pay their gangs for a job well done. That-in addition to their share of the tits- kept both gangs in line. Ryan and Miguel sat next to each other to watch Miss Sally and they washed their clothes together and guarded each other in the shower. No one fucked with them yet.

 

Sister Pete called Miguel in to talk about his dreams. He still had bad dreams about four times a week even with Ryan and weed and the anti-anxiety medication Dr. Nathan prescribed. Miguel knew his dreams weren't going to be an easy, overnight fix. The last 3 months they had decreased in severity and frequency. Some weeks he'd wake up 4 or 5 nights a week, but without the screaming fits. Other times, he'd wake up once or twice, screaming and thrashing about. He refused the dosage increase Dr. Nathan wanted to administer and his meetings with Sister Pete were happening less and less often. He only met with Father Mukada when Rivera was there for the interactions and he wasn't 100% sure those were helping either. The seeing eye dog program was set to start in a few days. He hoped that maybe giving Rivera this dog would give him the closure he so desperately was searching for.

After the initial shock of it all, all the inmates in Em City seemed to forget about Miguel and Ryan's relationship, finding something new to focus their attention on. Every now and then someone would step out of line, but Miguel and Ryan would handle anyone that posed any real threat.

Father Mukada and Sister Pete were discussing Miguel Alvarez. "He is still having nightmares. I don't think there's anything else we can do. He doesn't want more medicine. They'll just have to run their course. How are the sessions with Rivera going?"

"Good. Some unpleasant things have come up. Rivera was no choir boy before he became a hack."

"What do you mean?" Sister Pete was curious.

"It seems that Rivera, in his youth, perpetuated a fraud on a cousin of the late Hernandez. He pretended to marry her, turned her out to his gang, and then let her know the truth. Miguel asked him about it a couple of sessions ago."

"Why am I just hearing this?"

“Rivera's wife had been accompanying him to the sessions. Miguel told me he was sparing her feelings."

"So what happened to the girl?"

Father Ray looked disturbed. "She hung herself, " he said.

They were both silent for a moment.

"So, " Sister Pete changed the subject. "What do you think of Oz's newest couple?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Miguel Alvarez and Ryan O' Reily. They're a couple. Why do you think O' Reily was in the hole last week?" Father Mukada stared.

"I hadn't heard," he said. He knew that Miguel had been more agitated last week without his pod mate, but he didn't know that was why. Sister Peter Marie watched Father Mukada carefully. Like Ryan, she knew that Mukada had a crush on Miguel and like Ryan she also realized that Mukada didn't realize it. Father Mukada was one of those priests- and they were common- who simply didn't have a sex drive. He was asexual. "How long have they...been together?"

Sister Pete shrugged a little. "A few months I believe. A little after Miguel was transferred back into Em City."

The priest stayed quiet, a little puzzled as to why he hadn't known sooner. Sister Pete picked up on this and cleared her throat. "It’s probably the best thing that's happened to the two. They watch over each other and for the most part stay out of trouble."

"Maybe I should go talk to Miguel abo-,"

"Ray? Leave it alone. If he wants to talk about it, he'll come to you."

Father Ray just nodded in agreement.

In the pod, Miguel was waiting anxiously for Ryan to get back from his two-week stay in the hole. Some hack caught him slinging tits under the stairs and took him in. Miguel didn't expect it to be that bad without the other man around. His boredom was at an all time high, as was his anxiety and loneliness. And sleeping was out of the picture. Miguel was exhausted and agitated at best. But Ryan was on his was back today and the Latino couldn't help the small smile that formed on his face when he thought about it.

Miguel was pacing the pod, waiting for Ryan to come back. They always let you out of the hole first thing in the morning. He knew that Ryan would come back and grab his shaving kit and head to the showers. Then, he would come back and they would have a little while before having to go to work. Miguel was exhausted; he didn't function well without Ryan.

Things had been tense lately. The Irish had stayed allied with the Latinos because they saw it was to their advantage. The wise guys allowed it because it made things easier to run through Ryan and Miguel. This hack that busted Ryan was a new guy who didn't know any better and couldn't be paid off. He had already quit. The tenseness came between the Aryans, who were fighting with the Irish. This was the same battle that had gone on since Cyril and Miguel wasn't entirely sure that Ryan wasn't organizing it, although he wasn't sure how he could have organized anything from the hole.

"Miguel,” he looked up and saw Ryan coming into the pod. Miguel pulled his unshaven smelly lover into his arms and kissed him thoroughly before letting him go.

"Go shower," he said. "Then we need to talk. Things are brewing."

Ryan stood under the hot spray of the shower, letting the water cleanse him as well as soothe some of the tension from his body. Sleeping on the cold, dirty ground for two weeks sucked; he'd had longer stints in the hole, but this one was especially bad. Probably since he had gotten used to sleeping next to another body. As he finished up his shower and moved over to the sinks for his shave, he thought about what Miguel was talking about. He sensed some tension walking back into Em City, but he couldn't place where it was coming from. He finished up quickly, only nicking himself once, and made his was back to the pod.

Miguel was sitting at the desk flipping through a magazine, but he knew the Latino wasn't reading it. He leaned down and dropped a kiss to his forehead and another on his lips. "I missed you. What's going on?"

Miguel leaned into Ryan. "I've missed you to. The problem is your boys, the Irish, are fucking facing off against the Aryans. Did you arrange this?"

"No, " Ryan tried to look innocent, but Miguel knew him too well.

"Yes, You did. Yes you did. Is this payback for Cyril?"

"What do you think?" Ryan's green eyes held a dangerous glint.

"Are you dragging me and my crew into a war?"

"Won't be a war. Just need to have one Aryan air holed and then we're done."  
Miguel was surprised that Ryan was going after Schillinger. "Schillinger?" He asked.

"Yes," he said. "But senior, not junior. I couldn't go after him while before, but now I can. But they won't pin it on me. They won't even pin it on the Irish. They have been fighting with the homeboys, too. I'll tell ya', having Metzger as their only ally is starting to do a number on them. Especially since they hired three more Irish hacks."

Miguel knew that Ryan would eventually come back to this issue. He had no problems with the Nazi fuck being air holed, he was just nervous of the repercussions. Ryan seemed confident though, and when Ryan had a plan, he wouldn't stop until he saw it through. "So who's takin' him out?"

Ryan took a seat on Miguel's bed, resting his head against the frame. "I'm leaving this one up to Adebisi. The fucker is getting crazier and crazier...a few well placed words and Schillinger is done."

"No one will expect me of it because I just spent two weeks in the hole, but Adebisi is almost on the edge. "

Ryan wasn't kidding. At dinner that night, Adebisi jumped over the counter on the serving line and attacked Schillinger. He hadn't managed to completely kill him, but he was in critical condition. Beecher was unable to hold back and could be heard in his pod singing "Ding Dong the Witch is dead" at top volume. They were in lockdown, of course, and Adebisi was in the hole again. Ryan was actually happy about the lockdown. Locked in a pod, alone, with Miguel after two weeks in the hole was not a hardship. Not at all. It was lights-out now and they were both curled in Miguel's bunk, kissing hungrily.

"Fuck, I missed you, " gasped Ryan.

"I missed you too, baby. So fucking much," Miguel moaned, feeling Ryan's lips on his neck. They were both more turned on beyond belief; two weeks with no sex had been a lot harder to deal with than either man had anticipated. "Touch me, baby. Please."

Ryan wasted no time after that, rolling Miguel onto his back. He kissed down his chest, moving to run the flat of his tongue over each hard bud. Miguel closed his eyes and reveled in the pleasure. Ryan kept up with the slow sucking, licks, and kisses across Miguel's hard abdomen. His hands were busy sliding past his hips, tugging the annoying boxers down the Latino's legs. Ryan freed Miguel's cock and covered it with his mouth. "Fuck," Miguel gasped. "Fuck, baby, fuck," it didn't take too long to have Miguel shuddering against Ryan.

When Miguel moved to return the favor, Ryan pulled him back. "No, fucking kiss me, please," he begged, guiding Miguel's hand where he wanted it before capturing the Latino's lips with his own. It had indeed been a long two weeks and it didn't take Ryan long at all to finish. They sagged against each other, kissing furiously for some minutes before parting. Miguel rolled out of his bunk and got a wet cloth to clean up with as well as a joint. He came back to the bed and they lit the joint and cuddled against each other.

 

"So what else is going on?' asked Ryan. "Did you have many nightmares while I was in the hole? How are the interactions with Rivera going?”

"I had a couple. I didn't sleep much at all while you were gone," Miguel took a hit off the joint before passing it back. "The interactions with Rivera have been alright. His wife's been coming to them so I don't get to find out as much as I was before. Other than that, it’s been pretty slow. I'm just glad you're back."

Ryan exhaled the smoke he'd been holding in. "I'm glad to be back too. I haven't been to the hole in so long, I forgot how bad it sucked."

Miguel had secretly been thankful that he wasn't with Ryan when he got busted. Being alone with his thoughts in small spaces literally drove him crazy. He didn't think he could last another round in the hole or solitary confinement. Just the thought sent a chill through him. Ryan felt the slight shudder from the other man. "You okay?"

"I don't like small spaces, baby, you know that. I was just thinking of you being in the hole." Miguel propped himself up on one elbow and looked at Ryan's shadow in the faint light.

"It wasn't too bad," said Ryan.

"Being alone in a small place with just my head for company, it drives me crazy. I start hallucinating."

"Really?" Ryan looked at Miguel.

 

"I can't take it," Miguel hit the joint that Ryan passed him and lay back. "I didn't think I'd miss you so much. I barely slept." Miguel yawned to make his point.

Ryan stubbed out the joint and wrapped his body around Miguel's. "Well I'm here now, so get some sleep, all right?"

Miguel felt his eyes getting heavy, didn't have the energy to give Ryan a real response. Instead he pressed as close to him as he could, blindly searching for the Irishman's lips in the dark. "Goodnight, baby."

That night, Miguel slept soundly. Instead of nightmares, he had the first pleasant dream in God knows how long. He dreamt of he and Ryan being together outside the walls of Oz. It wasn't very detailed, but he felt a sense of happiness and a certain calm that he hadn't felt in years.

"COUNT!"

He was rudely jerked away by morning count, the last bit of his dream fading away and his reality setting in. He glanced over at Ryan, seeing the Irishman still asleep, an arm loosely wrapped around Miguel. He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his forehead before the hacks started making their rounds. "Buenos dias, mi amor."

Ryan's eyes fluttered open. "Morning already?" he groaned. He hadn't rested well in the hole, of course. He thought about coming back and taking a nap later. He had to meet with Sister Pete, however, behind his being popped for tits.

"Yeah, " Miguel stumbled out. The rest of the pods were opening and everyone was looking sleepy and dazed, ready for another day. Ryan came out behind him, wishing he had a cigarette.

Once Count was over, they each went off to their respective jobs. Miguel knew he would need to grab some Valium from the pharmacy. With everyone locked down since yesterday dinner, they would be more agitated.

It was lunchtime when Miguel saw Ryan come through with a tray. He had been good about staying away from the Infirmary, but Miguel wasn't sure where Ryan was at about Dr. Nathan. He never talked about her and Miguel was kind enough not to ask. When Miguel saw Ryan, he walked over to say a few words. They didn't spend much time together and then Ryan was delivering the trays. Dr. Nathan was watching him, warily. He had stayed out of the Infirmary lately and he hadn't had any health problems.

Suddenly, she remembered. O’ Reily hadn't had a follow-up exam in a while for his cancer. "Hey, O’ Reily," she called, interrupting his chat with Miguel.

"I didn't do anything, I swear. We're short handed with Adebisi and Wrangler in the hole."

"No, I would like to have a follow-up exam with you when you have time. It's been a while."

Miguel looked confusedly at Ryan. He knew that Ryan had been sick last year, but he hadn't gotten the full story.

"Are you ok, baby?" he whispered, worriedly.

"I'm fine, Miguel. Don't worry about it."

The reality of it was, he didn't know if he was all right. Sure, he felt fine, but you couldn't be too careful when it came to cancer. He looked at Gloria and nodded in confirmation, he'd set an appointment with her later. Right now he just wanted to keep Miguel's mind off of it, not wanting the Latino to worry too much.

"I gotta go. Meet me in the closet at 4?"

Miguel nodded, the slightly worried look still clear on his face. Ryan placed a quick peck on his lips before leaving the infirmary. The public display of affection shocked Miguel a bit, but when he saw that Dr. Nathan had witnessed it and the look on her face, he couldn't help but feel a bit smug. Miguel Alvarez and Dr. Gloria Nathan eyed each other surreptitiously for the next hour; each stealing a glance when they thought the other wasn't looking. 

Finally, Miguel couldn't take it anymore. "Dr. Nathan, " he said. She looked up. "Is there anything wrong with O’ Reily?"

"You know that I can't discuss another patient with you, Miguel," she told him.

He nodded, slipping out to meet Ryan in their closet. Meanwhile, Gloria Nathan retreated to her office to work on paperwork. When Sister Pete came in to discuss something with her, she pounced.   
"What is with Alvarez and O’ Reily? I saw them kiss!” Sister Pete stood stunned, a little thrown by the question. She saw the look of distress on Gloria's face.

"They're together, Gloria."

"What the fuck do you mean together?!"

"They're in a relationship. They have feelings for one another. And I think them being together is actually beneficial."

Dr. Nathan scoffed at that, rolling her eyes at the nun. "You don't honestly buy that, do you?"

Sister Pete simply shrugged. "I do. The heart wants what the heart wants. They're in love. And if I'm not mistaken, you didn't want anything to do with Ryan."

"I don't, of course I don't," Dr. Nathan looked nervous at the implication. "I just can't believe that Miguel Alvarez and Ryan O' Reily are suddenly 'in love',” she punctuated the phrase with both an eye roll and finger quotes.

Sister Pete eyed her critically but didn't say anything else. Still, Gloria found herself watching them over the next few days. O' Reily continued to deliver the lunches to the infirmary and he would usually seek Miguel out. They weren't as overt with their displays of affection as the first time but the affection was definitely there. They would briefly touch hands or O' Reily would wrap an arm around Alvarez' shoulders.

The day came for Ryan's follow-up exam. Dr. Nathan was thoughtful and then she said, "Ryan, I would like you to have further tests at the hospital in the city. "

"Dr. Nathan, what's wrong?"

"It's probably nothing but I definitely want you to have these tests. Don't worry, O' Reily." She smiled at him and left the patient room.

Ryan stood up shakily and peeked out the door. Miguel was hovering around nervously. "Miguel, " Ryan whispered. Miguel took one look at Ryan's face and came into the room, shutting the door behind him. He went to Ryan and wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tight.

 

"What is it?" he asked fearfully.

"I don't know," he said shakily. "It could be nothing..."

"Or it could be something. What if the cancer’s back, baby? What are you gonna do? What am I gonna do?"

The concern for his health warmed Ryan's heart, but in that moment, he couldn't really acknowledge it.   
"Don't worry, Miguel. Even if there is something wrong, I'll be fine. I beat it once, right?"

Miguel wasn't reassured by that and clung to Ryan tighter.

When the day came for Ryan to visit the doctors, he couldn't deny that he was scared shitless. The odds of beating cancer twice didn't seem very good and he really didn't want to die now that he had something to live for. They put Ryan through a battery of tests at the hospital. When they were done, he sat waiting for the results. Since it was a chore to bring prisoners in for medical treatment, they put a rush on having films read or blood tested.

The doctor came in. "Mr. O' Reily? " He seemed scared of Ryan. "It seems that we have had a reappearance of cancerous cells at your former tumor site. It is a very small tumor- so small that at this point, we are not going to do a lumpectomy. We will treat it with Radiation and Chemotherapy. Oz is equipped with a radiation machine- there have been more older patients getting sick up there. And, from your chart, I can see that you have had Chemo up there before. All other tests indicate that it has not spread and we have caught it at the earliest possible stage."

Ryan sat stunned. He figured the possibility was there but actually hearing that the cancer was indeed back left him speechless. He finished up with the doctor, scheduling his first round of chemo back at Oz. As he boarded the bus back to the prison, he couldn't stop thinking about Miguel and what he was going to say to him. Lying would be pointless; the Latino was one of the few people in the world that could see through his bullshit. Knowing they caught it in its earliest stage was a slight reassurance, but he was still scared for the chemo. He hated the first round, could picture how horrible it would be again.

He finally made it back to Em City, quickly retreating to the pod. Miguel was pacing back and forth, obviously waiting for the Irishman to get back. "So?" Miguel looked ready to jump out of his skin.

"The cancer's back, but they caught it at the early stage. I have to go through chemo again and they'll take me by bus for seven radiation treatments next week.

Miguel looked pale at this, but he pulled himself together. "They caught it early. That's good. You're not going to die. That's good," he kept repeating, holding Ryan tightly. He sensed that Ryan needed him to be strong now.

"It's going to be ugly, Miguel, " Ryan said, holding on to Miguel pretty tightly himself. "I get sick and weak and my hair falls out."

Miguel shrugged. "I work in the hospital. Don't worry about it. Whatever you need, baby. We got to get organized around the tit game so that we're covered while you're sick. Put your lieutenant in charge. Is it Kirk? Put him in charge and I'll handle the rest of the stuff. " Ryan knew that he didn't want them to move him to the hospital again. He wanted to stay in the pod with Miguel even as he despised the idea of looking weak and helpless in front of Miguel. Miguel kissed his forehead and then his lips. "You have me for the long haul, baby. Whatever you need.”

The first few weeks of chemo were rougher than Ryan anticipated. He'd shaved his head by the beginning of week 1, not waiting for his hair to start falling out again. He'd spent the first 3 weeks in the infirmary, his immune system too weak to be around the other inmates, but Miguel had been by his side every single day on his shift. Sister Pete pulled some strings and convinced Dr. Nathan to basically let Miguel use his job for visiting hours until Ryan was well enough to be released.

Today had be a particularly hard day for the Irishman. He was sweating, had chills, and couldn’t keep anything down. Miguel had a damp cloth on Ryan's forehead, doing whatever he could to ease his pain.   
"How're you feeling today, baby?"

"Like shit." Ryan snapped. The chemo made him irritable, which he hated since he usually took it out on Miguel. "I'm sorry. I just want this shit to be over."

"I know baby, I know," Miguel put the cloth down and reached for the bag of weed. "Maybe this will help." The only possible benefit to Ryan being sick was the ounce bag of medical marijuana that had appeared on the day Ryan started his chemo. Most of the bag mysteriously disappeared by the second day, but she told them that it had to last the entire round of chemo. It was back the next day. She suspected that Miguel might be sneaking a bit back to Em City but she didn't really care about that. Miguel had taken over as Ryan's personal nurse. One of the things that had led to Ryan's obsession with Gloria was that during this previous round of Chemo, she had to spend a lot of time with him. Now, Miguel bathed him, changed his IV bags, took care of him when he was sick to his stomach, brought him his food, you name it.

Miguel climbed in bed next to Ryan and they smoked a joint. The marijuana got rid of the roiling in Ryan's stomach but did nothing for the chills and sweats. Miguel wrapped an arm around him and sleepily leaned back. "I've missed laying next to you, baby." A minute later he was out. Ryan looked over at him. He knew that Miguel was probably spending most nights pacing the pod and he had been taking such good care of Ryan and Ryan had been such a dick the past few weeks.

Ryan lay back, still sweating and still wracked with chills. He knew that when Miguel woke up he would give him a sponge bath and that thought comforted him. The door creaked open and Dr. Nathan  
looked in. Ryan slid out of bed quietly and gestured to Miguel. "Could you help me to the bathroom? I don't want to wake him up."

Once they slid out of the little room, Ryan turned to her gratefully. "Thanks, " he said. "I just know he's pacing the pod every night worried about me. "

Dr. Nathan looked at him. She had viewed their relationship with trepidation, disbelief and more than a little jealousy. But, she also saw how much they cared for each other. Dr. Nathan waited until Ryan was back in bed to talk to him. "He really does care for you."

Ryan pulled the blanket tighter around the two of them before regarding her. "I know he does. Its nice to see feelings reciprocated."

Dr. Nathan flinched a little at that remark, knowing it was a jab at her. Ryan curled himself close to Miguel, putting his back to her and ending further conversation on the matter. Later, after Miguel had woken and given Ryan his sponge bath, the two were sitting there waiting for a guard to take Miguel back to Em City. "Thank you for being here for me and helping me through all this bullshit. It means a lot to me."

Miguel rubbed his hand along Ryan's arm. "Of course I'd be here baby. Like I told you, I'm here for the long haul. You ain't getting rid of me anytime soon."

Ryan gave a weak smile, clasping Miguel's hand in his. "I love you very much, Miguel. I want you to know that."

"I love you too, Ryan, "Miguel murmured, kissing him before the guard arrived.

After Miguel had been taken back to Em City by the guard, Ryan lay on the bed thinking of Miguel. The Latino had been so good to Ryan this whole time he had been ill. Ryan would also take his temper out on Miguel, but the Latino didn't seem to mind. He just kept taking care of Ryan. Ryan wanted to do something for Miguel, to show him how much he loved him. He kept thinking, his mind flitting. What could he do to show Miguel how much he loved him. Ryan searched his mind and he finally got it. He would give Miguel something he had never given anyone. He would give Miguel himself. He would let Miguel fuck him. Ryan sighed. The Chemotherapy took away all aspects of his sex drive, but he vowed that once he was feeling back to normal, he would do that.

Over the next couple of days, Ryan felt even worse. And Miguel was patient and caring as always. Dr. Nathan told Ryan that he had only four more courses of Chemotherapy. Just one more week and then he would be done with this. They would check the tumor site and see if there were still cancerous cells there and then they would go from there.

Ryan was sitting nervously in the doctor's office, waiting to hear whether they were able to stop the cancer from spreading or not. He wished Miguel was with him. Even though he was done with the chemo, he still felt pretty weak. He knew if the Latino was here, he'd be holding his hand through it all, giving him positive words no matter the outcome. The doctor came in, breaking Ryan out of his thoughts.

The look on his face was unreadable, neutral. Anything could happen. "Well, Mr. O' Reily, after examining you again and looking over your blood work, it looks like we were able to stop it just in time."

Ryan let out a huge sigh. "So it's gone? I'll be okay?"

"As long as you continue with routine check ups and rest up a little so you're immune system can build back up again, you'll be back to normal."

Ryan was so relieved to hear this news, not only for himself but also for Miguel.

Ryan returned to Oz a short time later, only briefly stopping in the infirmary to touch base with Dr. Nathan. He saw Miguel in passing and gave him a smile and a thumbs up. He wished he could go tell him the news right then, but Dr. Nathan had him making up for lost time and he wouldn't be able to see him until after his shift. Ryan was laying in the bed in the private room. Dr. Nathan wanted him there for a couple more days just to rest then he could return to Em City and half shifts. Ryan couldn't wait to get out of the hospital and back in the pod. His boys had taken over running his tits, and Miguel had run his, but he had been hearing some odd things about Adebisi. He didn't want to think about it right now, he was still too tired.

Miguel slipped in the door. "Dr. Nathan says I can take like a half hour before the guard comes and gets me. So, it's gone? The cancer's gone?"

"So they say, " said Ryan. "They want to monitor me really closely just in case. I have to have this scan like every three months in the city. "

Miguel looked so relieved at this that Ryan thought he might fall over. He bent over the bed and kissed Ryan thoroughly, holing him tight. "Oh, I was so scared, baby. I was so scared I was going to lose you."

"Well, not yet, " said Ryan. "I'm hard to beat."

After four days in the hospital ward, Ryan was deemed well enough to go back to Em City. He knew it would be a while still before he was 100%, but just knowing he'd be okay and didn't have to sleep alone was enough to satisfy Ryan. As he made it through the gates, he was aware of all the stares and whispers the other inmates were doing. This second time around though, he didn't even care. He held his head high and made it to the table Timmy Kirk and the rest of the Irish were at. After finding out how things were going with the tit trade, he headed to the pod, needing to lay down.

Miguel was leaning against the glass, watching Ryan approach. He wore a smile, but didn't rush to crowd Ryan, knowing he still needed some time to handle everything. He waited until Ryan was situated in his bunk before going to lay next to him, pulling him into a series of soft kisses.   
"Welcome home, baby."

"Mmmm," Ryan leaned into Miguel's touch. "I'm so tired, Miguel."

"Yeah," Miguel held him for a minute. "I wish I could stay here, but I have to get to work. " He kissed Ryan on the forehead and left him asleep in his bed.

When he got to the infirmary, he was working for a while when Sister Pete came and got him.

"I'll be talking to Ryan later, but I wanted to talk to you now, Miguel. How do you feel?"

"About what?"

“About his illness, recovery, things in general. I'm trying to get a sense of your mental state."

Miguel glanced at her. “I'm fine, Sister. I mean, when he was going through his chemo, I was scared. But he's good now."

Sister Pete nodded, listening to him talk. She was watching his body language and noticed how relaxed he seemed since her previous encounter with him.

"I think him getting sick made me realize how much I did care for him, ya know?"

"That much is definitely obvious, Miguel. You took very good care of him. I know that kept his morale up."

Miguel finished changing the sheets on the bed in front of him. "Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were doing ok. You have been doing beautifully since you have been with Ryan. What about the interactions with Rivera? How have they been going?"

"Father Mukada asked to halt them while Ryan was going through Chemo. Rivera agreed pretty quickly. I think they were wearing on him."

"Hmmm," said Sister Pete.

She was talking with Father Mukada later that day. "Miguel Alvarez seems to be doing better."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Much better. I was worried about him losing it while O' Reily was sick, but he seems to be doing fine."

"Yeah. He was so good with O' Reily."

"You realize that it is not all hearts and flowers, Sister. Miguel still runs El Norte and he’s allied with O' Reily, one of the most devious minds in here."

"Oh, I know," she said knowledgeably. "They're still cute together, though."

After his shift and making a couple sales, Miguel wandered back to the pod, seeing Ryan still asleep. He lay down next to him, deciding a nap would be a good idea. He'd been running on fumes since Ryan had gotten sick and now that things were looking up and the Irishman was out of the hospital he could finally breath easy.

Ryan woke up a short time later, just in time for dinner. He turned and looked at Miguel, torn on whether he should wake the younger man or let him sleep. He cupped his jaw, stroking the side of his face. Ryan had to admit that going through all the chemo and how his feelings for Miguel had grown scared him a bit. He had this underlying fear that he'd end up with the same results he'd gotten with Gloria.

Caught up in his thoughts, he hadn't even noticed Miguel waking up. "You just gonna watch me sleep all day, mi corazon?" Ryan smiled at Miguel.

"I was trying to decide whether to wake you. You looked so tired."

Miguel sat up and stretched. "Yeah, it's almost dinner, isn't it?

"Yeah, " Ryan sat up and put on his shoes. They walked to the cafeteria together where Adebisi was waiting for Ryan with a special dinner. Ryan was a bit worried, considering how he and Adebisi had 'spiced up' meals in the past but Liam, who had been taking his place in the cafeteria nodded that the food was ok. Ryan smirked. Adebisi's weird fascination with Ryan put Miguel on edge, but it didn't really bug Ryan. It amused Ryan that Miguel glowered, while sneaking bites off his plate.

Once they were back in the pod for nighttime lockdown, Ryan crawled into Miguel's bottom bunk.   
Miguel pulled Ryan close and kissed him enthusiastically. "I'm so glad you're back, baby"

"I am too," said Ryan, kissing him back. "I still can't, I mean, the medicine..." Ryan's voice trailed off.

Miguel kissed him again. "That's ok, baby. I know. I am just so happy that you're back!"

The next few weeks were rough for Ryan. His hair was growing back, his strength was coming back, but his sex drive was still being affected. It wasn't like he didn't want to have sex or that Miguel wasn't turning him on, the medicine just seemed to make it impossible for him to stay in the mood. Such was the case that night. It was well after lights out and Miguel and Ryan had been engaged in a pretty lengthy (and hot) make out session. Ryan could feel Miguel's hardness pressing against his hip, the Latino grinding against him. Ryan moaned into the kisses, trying to will his body to respond appropriately with no such luck.

Miguel pulled away, hovering over Ryan. "Stop thinking so hard. Just let it happen, baby."

Ryan relaxed into Miguel's kisses, trying to will himself to relax and follow Miguel's instructions.

"Just relax, relax," Miguel whispered into his skin. "Just concentrate on my hands on you, baby. And my mouth." Miguel punctuated his words with kisses and Ryan concentrated on Miguel's touch and Miguel's kisses. He felt his body respond almost without realizing it. He could have wept in gratitude. Miguel, who was always there for him. Who helped solve every problem he had. Suddenly, Ryan remembered what he had thought about a few weeks before, what he wanted to do for Miguel.   
"Miguel, " he gasped, arching into the Latino's touch. "I want you to fuck me!"

Miguel paused his actions, pulling away far enough to look Ryan in the eye. "You sure? You've been through a lot lately, I don't want to hurt you..."

Ryan pulled him down for a kiss, stopping his rant. He couldn't blame Miguel for being nervous, hell, HE was nervous. But this was something he wanted to share with Miguel and only Miguel. "I'm positive, babe. I want this and I want you to be the person to do this with."

That was all the reassurance Miguel needed. He pressed a few more kisses to Ryan’s lips while stripping them both of their boxers. "Where's the lube?"

"Whoa," said Ryan. "You can't just dive right in." Ryan had had the most embarrassing conversation ever with Beecher a few months back when he and Miguel had first gotten together. He had threatened law boy with castration if any aspect of that conversation ever reached Keller's ears. Beecher promised and Ryan got the information he needed. He remembered it now. "You have to prepare me. You have to put your fingers in before you put your dick. "

"Uh, Ok. " Miguel was a little nervous. He was nervous about hurting Ryan, pleasing Ryan and the act itself.

He squirted lube on his finger and did as Ryan asked. "How's that."

"Hmm, " he said. "Ok, I guess. I mean, it feels like your finger in my ass."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No, I think you’re supposed to add another finger. It doesn't hurt or anything. "

Miguel added a second finger. Ryan wiggled trying to get more comfortable and Miguel's finger brushed something. " Fuck! Do that again!"

"What?" Ryan was wiggling around. Miguel felt his fingers brush something.

Ryan moaned, sounding needy.

Miguel let out a breath. He hadn't been sure this was going to work.

"Are you ready?"

"I think that you need to add another finger. I mean, you're supposed to get me ready for your dick. You're not small, babe"

Miguel chuckled a bit at that, lubing up another finger before working it in with the others. Ryan winced a bit at first, but once Miguel hit that spot again, he moaned lowly. "Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

"Just...go slow. Take your time."

Miguel listened, continuing to stretch the man beneath him at a slower pace. Ryan was panting and moaning, pushing back against his fingers. Miguel couldn't believe how turned on he was doing this with Ryan, couldn't believe how much Ryan was enjoying it. After what felt like forever, Miguel spoke up again. "You ready, baby?"

Ryan nodded, too caught up in the surprisingly intense feeling having Miguel finger him was bringing.   
Miguel grabbed the lube and generously coated his cock, bringing himself between Ryan's legs. He pushed in slowly, carefully. He didn't want to hurt Ryan. It seemed like it took forever before he was fully sheathed. “Are you ok?" he asked anxiously.

"Yeah, just don't move for a second, ok? " Miguel complied although it was hard.

He kissed Ryan until Ryan finally said, "Ok, now I'm ready" Miguel began to move, slowly. Ryan was wiggling under him, trying to get Miguel to hit that spot again.

 

"Oh! Fuck!" he gasped.

"Am I hurting you?"

"No, " gasped Ryan. "Do that again." He canted his hips against Miguel, gasping.

"Fuck, I love you so much, baby," Miguel whispered in his ear.

Ryan was pushing back against Miguel, meeting every thrust with one of his own. He had his hands gripping the Latino's biceps tightly, completely caught up in the pleasure. "I love you too...harder, please,"

Miguel ducked his head, kissing him sloppily as he moved his hips harder, faster, and deeper. Ryan felt like his spine was tingling every time Miguel hit that little spot. He never thought it would feel this good. Had he known that, he probably would've been doing this long ago. He wrapped his legs around Miguel's thighs, pulling him even closer, biting down on the younger mans bottom lip as he felt his climax building.

"Fuck, I'm close babe...more..."

Miguel couldn't believe Ryan, thrusting under him, begging him for 'more' and 'harder'. He tried to oblige, pulling Ryan's hips up, thrusting deeper. "Yes, yes, " Ryan moaned, biting Miguel's collarbone as he came. It was too much for Miguel. Ryan was clenching around his cock and he couldn't resist. He came swearing softly in Spanish. Miguel collapsed on Ryan, holding him tightly. "Hey, was that ok? Did I hurt you?"

"It was fantastic," Ryan sighed. He slid out of bed and reached for his boxers. He also knew he had a joint somewhere in the pod. Gloria had been kind enough to renew his prescription- he figured it was her payback for leaving her the fuck alone.

"And I'm not a fucking girl. If you hurt me it was for a good cause. I think that was the best fucking sex I've ever had."

"Really?" Ryan could see Miguel puff up in the faint light.

"Seriously," Ryan found the joint and stood behind the bunks to light it. "I think that shit is some sort of secret the gay guys are keeping from the rest of the world. "

Miguel had just taken a hit of smoke and he burst out laughing. "What?" Ryan looked at him innocently. "You think I'm kidding. Next time someone brings it up, listen. Guys will be like' oh that must really hurt' and not one gay guy says a fucking word. You know they're thinking 'dumb mother fuckers'."

Miguel was still laughing as he sat up. He passed the joint back and then looked for his boxers.  
"So does that make us gay, baby?"

"I don't care anymore. I'm glad to be with you. I'm glad that you and I got together, that you have my back."

"So why did you do that?"

"Because you were so good when I was sick. I wanted to give you something that I wouldn't give anyone else." Ryan came and lay back down in Miguel's bunk, handing him the joint. "So tell me what's going on with Adebisi and the Italians?" Miguel took another hit, slowly exhaling as he thought about that question.

"Adebisi is up to some shit. He's trying to get the Muslims and the Homeboys on one side I think to spark a race war. Not sure what his reasons are yet though."

Ryan contemplated that for a bit, knowing he'd have to make a point to try and figure out what was going on in the African's mind. He still wasn't where he wanted to be when it came to knowing everything going on in Em City, but he'd get there. Had to if he wanted stay on top. They finished the joint, and just lying there, enjoying just being there with one another. The next morning, Ryan and Miguel were getting ready for work.

"You should go talk with Said," Ryan told Miguel. "You're a bit darker. You'll get further than me. I will go and see about gathering info from someone I don't want to deal with."

"Who?"

"Vern Fucking Schillinger"

Vern was a hard man to get information from, especially when the Nazi was in GenPop and had issues with the Irishman. Ryan had a way to find out anything though and with the help of some of the bikers, was able to get some of the scoop. Hoyt came and sat next to Ryan in the quad, shuffling a deck of cards to make it seem like they were just going to enjoy a quick game. "The Nazi's are looking to go to war with the homeboys for Adebisi stabbing Schillinger. Don't know when, but they're serious about it."

"Shit..." Meanwhile, Miguel had gone up to the Infirmary. It wasn't long before Eduardo came and plucked his sleeve. He led him out in the hall, where Chico was waiting.

"What's up?" asked Miguel.

"The shit is about to hit the fan, ese, " Chico told him. "The Nazi's and the Homeboys are about to go to war. It's been brewing ever since Schillinger got out of the hospital. "

"And we're going to pull up a lawn chair and watch this one out. We don't have any skin in this game."

Ryan, meanwhile, had gathered more information. If it came down to it, the bikers would back the Aryans that much was certain. They expected the Irish, also being white, to back them. But, Ryan talked to Liam and Tommy and told them the same thing Miguel did to El Norte-we will be sitting this one out. Since Ryan was back on full shifts in the kitchen, he could tell that things were about to burst.

Ryan and Miguel were playing checkers in the quad when the lockdown hit. All the inmates were looking at each other for answers, the problem not coming from Em City. As they made their way up the stairs to the pod, Chico nudge Miguel in the shoulder and leaned in to whisper in his ear.   
"Schillinger and Adebisi had a little meeting in the gym,"

"Oh shit..."

They got locked into their pod, both wondering the same thing.

"Who do you think got air-holed?" Ryan hated lockdown, although it was a lot easier to deal with sharing a pod with Miguel than with Cyril. He still liked to be able to get out of that little space even if it was still to be locked within a bigger space.

Miguel loathed being locked into a small space, although he was generally cool if there were tits in the pod or he had taken his medication, which he usually did before leaving the infirmary. Right now, there was nothing to do but lay in Miguel's bunk. It was too early to fuck or smoke pot. "Who do you think got killed?" That was all they could talk about.

"I heard the guards got sick of this shit and locked the two of them in, the way they did Jefferson Keane." This was from Miguel.

"Who the fuck did you hear that from? "

"Chico suggested that it might happen when I talked to him earlier today. "

"Hoyt said that they would end up fighting. We should have signed up for Gym- we could have gotten front row seats."


	4. Chapter 4

It was a question as to who would win in a fight between Schillinger and Adebisi. Adebisi had size on him, but otherwise they were pretty evenly matched. Both were tough, mean, and merciless. They were both rapists. Adebisi and Schillinger were the type of men that prison never helped, it just allowed them to grow. Schillinger was a much bigger deal in prison than he had ever been on the outside. Same with Adebisi, who had started out in some backwater village in Nigeria. 

Lockdown only lasted that day, all the inmates of Em City anxious to know the outcome. When Ryan headed for the kitchen for work duty, he saw Officer Murphy and walked over the guard, determined to get some info. "Hey, what happened yesterday?"

The CO glanced around before leaning into Ryan. "Both those fucks are dead. Adebisi got Schillinger but not before Adebisi was able to shank him. He died in the infirmary."

Fuck. Ryan knew word was probably making its away around the prison as they spoke, but he couldn't have predicted a better outcome. Schillinger was finally out, even though it took a million attempts to get rid of him. And even though Adebisi wasn't exactly in the plan, it didn't hurt to get him out of the way. The tits would run smoother and they wouldn't have to worry about him going completely insane.   
Ryan smiled to himself, knowing that Miguel will especially enjoy the news of Adebisi's demise. Now that it was more or less back to normal for Ryan and Miguel, Rivera decided to start the interactions again. Miguel told Father Ray that it might be best if Rivera's wife stayed away for the first few sessions. He wanted to talk to Rivera about what he did to Hernandez' cousin without destroying the man in front of his wife. It had been several months since their last interaction and Rivera looked thinner. 

"Let's talk about what went on at our last session," said Father Ray. "Eugene, you mentioned that in your youth, you perpetuated a fraud on this woman and as a result, she took her own life."

"Yes," said Rivera in a small voice. 

"And this was the reason for El Cid's hatred?" asked Miguel. 

"Yes," said Rivera. 

"Why hasn't there been any bad blood between Los Diablos and El Norte. I figured that I would have those guys on my back the second I got out of Solitary, but nothing. Why?" asked Miguel. 

Eugene kept his head ducked low, obviously feeling shameful about his past. "No one was going to do anything to you because I was a hack. And a lot of them thought I deserved it for what I did to El Cid's cousin."

Miguel stayed quiet, not even realizing how much deeper this situation went than his involvement. He still felt horrible about what he'd done, but seeing the CO and knowing he wasn't entirely an innocent party gave Miguel a small sense of peace of mind. “El Cid had used Miguel as a pawn in his puzzle, but it was so much more than proving his worth to his gang. It was El Cid getting redemption for his cousin. So, the question is now, where do we go from here?" said Father Ray, after Rivera had left. 

"The service dog training program is up and running in full force. I wanted to train one for Rivera before Ryan got sick. I could do that now."

"That's a fine idea. I must say, you have been doing so well since you got out of Solitary, Miguel."

"That's because of Ryan, " said Miguel. "He gives me something to focus on." 

"Well," said Father Ray. "I will get you signed up for the service dog program. It might take a few weeks. They have to screen dogs to even find one for you to train."

"Sounds good," said Miguel. The guard arrived and showed him back to Em City. Ryan was sitting in front of the tube, watching Miss Sally. "Hey, " Miguel greeted him. 

"Hey," said Ryan. "What's going on?”

"Well, I had another meeting with Rivera. I am going to start training a dog for him," said Miguel.   
"What about you?"

“You're really going to train a dog for him?"

Miguel nodded. 

"Doesn't that mean the dogs gonna have to stay in the pod with us?"

"Yeah, so?"

Ryan shrugged, not 100% sold on the idea. 

"That's kinda...weird. It'll be like a kid or some shit we'll have to watch."

Miguel rolled his eyes, not sure why Ryan was being so weird about it. "You don't have to watch shit. I'm gonna be the one training it, looking after it. I need to do this, Ryan. It’s what needs to be done for me to get over everything." 

The guards called count and they went into their pod. As usual, they settled on Miguel's bunk to continue talking. "I understand that you have to do this, babe, and I'm there for you. But, I am not sure about having a dog in the pod with us  "

"Well, don't worry about it. They have to find a dog for me and that's supposed to take a few weeks. They have to go through the dogs and see which ones freak out or something."

Miguel was surprised when they found a dog for him a couple of weeks later. They told him to take the dog back to the pod and make friends with it. The dog was a handsome female they had named kiss.  
"That's the most girly fuckin' name I have ever heard of for a dog," said Miguel. "What the fuck? He's supposed to call the dog, come here kiss. Go kiss. No. No. No, we'll name the dog Julie. That sounds so much better." 

He brought the dog back to Em City. Life there was such that any new novelty was cooed over and it took a while before he could bring the dog into the pod. He was given some bags for any accidents and they locked Miguel, Ryan and Julie into the pod. The first night with Julie was interesting. She was a pretty well behaved dog and seemed to love Miguel off the bat, but she tended to get territorial from time to time, which made it hard for Ryan and Miguel to be intimate. After lights out, Ryan hopped down from his bed like he did every night and went to lay on his side of the bunk. He was holding onto Miguel, ready to go in for a kiss when he heard growling behind him. 

"What the fuck?"

Miguel just chuckled, pulling Ryan into a kiss. As things got more heated, Julie starting barking, hopping on top of the two. By this point, Miguel was laughing hard, absolutely amused with the fact that Julie didn't want Ryan anywhere near him. Ryan wasn't as amused, moving back to his bunk in a huff. "Calm down, baby, she's just not used to us." 

Ryan just rolled his eyes. "Get your ass up here. Cujo can't attack me from down there." Miguel was still laughing as he followed Ryan up to his bunk. Julie continued to bark for a few minutes and then settled herself in Miguel's bunk. "Stupid dog, " Ryan grumbled even as his arms were around Miguel and he was kissing his neck.

"Don't say that, " Miguel arched into Ryan's caresses. "She's just become attached to me. I think she's jealous of you or some shit."

"You think?" 

 Miguel silenced Ryan with a kiss and neither of them spoke after that. 

The next morning, Ryan woke before the hacks woke him and got out of bed to have a morning joint. He was reaching in his pants when his bare foot hit something unpleasant. "MIGUEL!"

"What?" Miguel woke up groggy.

"I just stepped in dog shit!"

"Fuck..." Miguel groaned as he rolled out of the bunk. "Let me clean it up."

"This is why I knew this was a bad idea."

Miguel looked up from his cleaning, seeing the look of frustration on Ryan's face. "It was an accident Ryan, its not like I can take her out to use the bathroom. Chill the fuck out."

Ryan rolled his eyes, hopping back on his bunk once everything was cleaned up, waiting for morning count. "Just get that stupid mutt in check." 

Things were tense by the time the guards called Count for the morning. Ryan had sat sulking on his bunk, glaring at Julie. Miguel sat on his bottom bunk, talking and playing with the friendly dog. Julie clearly trusted him and he was looking forward to learning things to teach her. He wasn't exactly sure how they would teach her to function as eyes for Rivera and he was curious. 

Ryan was in a very huffy mood when the doors opened and Miguel was reluctant to call him back for a kiss. Miguel's routine would change in that he would spend two hours training the dog and then go to his shift in the infirmary. He had to have Julie with him all the time, but she would be returned to her kennel while he worked his shift in the infirmary. Miguel spent a pleasant two hours training Julie. They started out with simple commands. Go, stop-things like that. It hit Miguel that he was training this dog in English but he was sure that Eugene Rivera spoke Spanish in his home. He would ask the teacher if he could also teach the dog the commands in Spanish, although he knew it was too soon to begin that.

Ryan was working his shift in the Kitchen. There was a new prisoner in Em City, a guy named Jim Davidson. No one could really figure him out. He wasn't a biker, Aryan, or Irish. He wasn't Latino or a homeboy or a Muslim. He was an 'other' and Ryan didn't have a read on the guy yet. "Lovers Quarrel, O' Reily?" he was casual as he lit a cigarette. 

Everyone was silent. The old hands of Oz had long accepted his relationship with Miguel. They were tough enough that no one fucked with them over it. Now, this guy had just laid down a gauntlet. Miguel was sitting in the pod playing with Julie when Ryan came in, in a worse mood than he'd been in earlier. "Are you still pissed about Julie?"

Ryan stopped in his pacing and looked at Miguel. He felt his previous annoyance dissipate, but he was still not happy. "No...I'll get used to her."

Miguel raised an eyebrow in question. "Then what's wrong with you? You've been upset all day, baby."

"You know that new guy, Davidson?"

Miguel nodded. 

"Well, that mother fucker’s trying to start shit. He called me out on our...issues from earlier while I was working. I don't know what his deal is, but he better watch himself." 

"You haven't had to move against anyone directly in a long time, baby, " said Miguel. "You know I got your back."

"I know, " said Ryan, moving to sit on Miguel's bed. Miguel went to sit next to him and Julie growled.

"Man," sighed Ryan, now really upset. "I'm going to go take a shower and calm down. "

Miguel agreed it was a good idea and told Julie that he would send her back to the kennel if she did not accept Ryan. He lived there, too. The dog seemed to understand and hung her head a little. Ryan was rinsing off and enjoying the feeling of the shower, when Davidson came waltzing in. "Hey, O' Reily. Fancy meeting you here. You must be still on the outs with your boyfriend."

"Listen and listen good because I'll only be saying it once. Back off or you'll get hurt." Ryan and Miguel, being major players in the tits trade, never walked around without a shank. They carried them in clip holsters that Rebadow helped them fashion. Ryan reached for his.

"Hey, no harm meant, "Davidson raised his hands and backed off. He went to take his own shower and Ryan finished his and returned to the pod with Miguel. 

 

Davidson got back to the pod, which he shared with Augustus Hill. "Someone should warn you, man. You do not want to fuck with either Ryan O' Reily or Miguel Alvarez." Davidson just chuckled, knowing what he had in mind for the two would work out if he could figure out the right angle. Especially since Torquemada would be going to trial soon.   
A few days passed without incident, Davidson avoiding Ryan and Miguel all together. He still couldn’t quite figure out how to approach them without giving up what his plans with them were.  

Neither man could still figure out what the new inmate's problem was, but they kept their guard up, not thinking to trust him anytime soon. Miguel was changing sheets in the infirmary when Davidson was brought in with what looked like a bloody nose, possibly broken. "Miguel, get him to a bed for me, I gotta finish up over here."

Miguel nodded, leading the man to an empty, out of earshot from other patients. "The fuck happened to you? That smart mouth of yours get you in trouble."

Davidson let out a dry laugh. "Got elbowed in the nose playing basketball. I take it your little boyfriend told you about me."

Miguel gave him a look, silently letting him know he was treading on thin ice. "What's your deal, man? Why are you so concerned with us?" 

Davidson looked him up and down. "I'm not 'concerned' with you, I'm just trying to figure out what your deal is. What his is. It seems odd to trust so much of the tit trade to a couple of butt buddies." 

Miguel counted to ten. Then he said, "Let me give you a piece of advice, Davidson, " his voice was low and deadly. "I'd be less worried about what me and Ryan O' Reily are up to and more about protecting yourself from getting elbowed again...or worse. "

"Is that a threat?"

"Just a bit of advice. Do your research. You'll find out." Davidson kept a straight face, not wanting Miguel to know his words had any affect on him. 

“You could go a lot farther with the tits if you joined forces with me…”

Miguel snorted at that. “Why the fuck would we want to do that?”

“Think it over. It could be a wise decision in the long run.”

Miguel eyed the other man a bit longer, still trying to figure out his angle before walking away 

Things were not improving with Julie, either. Miguel was really having a good time training her and she was a very well behaved dog. But, she did not like Ryan in Miguel's bed. Since they spent a lot of time lounging or sleeping in Miguel's bed, this put Ryan on edge. They were able to use Ryan's bed, but it didn't work as well, being the upper bunk. Ryan felt edgy because the dog was irritating him and so he smoked more pot. This led to arguments with Miguel over getting the dog stoned. Ryan and Miguel's arguing had reached an all time high with the arrival of Julie. 

Ryan's temper was shorter than normal and just about anything from anyone set him off. He was sitting in the quad watching Miss Sally when Davidson stepped into his line of vision. He jerked his headphones off and stood up, getting in the other man's face. "What the fuck do you want now?"

Davidson just smiled, not really having a reason to talk to the Irishman, just knowing he was on edge and wanting to mess with him. "You seemed pretty absorbed with Miss Sally. I thought you liked dick though?"

Ryan didn't think, just reacted and punched Davidson in the face. He blacked out and just kept swinging at him, not stopping until a guard pulled him off, jerking him toward the gate. "You just earned yourself a trip to the hole, O' Reily." Miguel was working in the infirmary when they brought Davidson in. His face was all bruised and he looked beaten half to death. 

"What happened?"

"O' Reily did this He just went berserk. He'll be a week in the hole."

Fuck! Ryan and Miguel weren't getting along well lately, but Miguel didn't want him in the hole. Just the thought of going back to the pod-without Ryan- made him feel depressed. Plus, it didn't help that they were getting a big shipment of tits. It would take all of the guys to run it- both Irish and Latino and Miguel was still worried about getting it all out. 

That first night without Ryan was horrible. Miguel missed him lying next to him. Julie curled up in Miguel's bunk with him, but it wasn't the same. He ended up climbing into Ryan's bunk. That night, he had the nightmare about eyes weeping blood and woke up screaming. The next six days passed in a haze. Miguel missed Ryan so much. He even missed fighting with him. He just wanted Ryan out of the hole. On the third day, McManus called him into his office.

"So, Miguel. You've been doing well since you got out of Solitary. I have been thinking about switching your pod." Miguel looked wary. "But, Sister Peter Marie argued against that, as did five guards-all of whom threatened to quit if I did. Do you have any idea why O' Reily went off."

"Probably because Davidson has been hassling us, calling us gay and fag. Harassing us about being together. He probably pushed Ryan's last button."

McManus nodded, considering that. He had been watching the newest resident of Em City, noticing how he only seemed to be concerned with Alvarez and O' Reily. He hadn't known how close Miguel and Ryan had grown until his suggestion to separate them had seen nothing but negative feedback.   
"I'll give you guys another shot. I don't want to cause any rifts, seeing how Em City has been relatively incident free since you and Ryan joined forces."

Miguel gave a sigh of relief, not even wanting to think about how shitty it would be to separate with Ryan. 

"You won't have to worry about Davidson harassing you guys anymore either. I'm moving him to Genpop." 

"Thanks, McManus." Miguel returned to Em City with Julie and saw Davidson's stuff being packed up. He had a feeling that this wasn't over between him, Ryan and Davidson. Miguel didn't sleep much while Ryan was in the Hole and he was delighted the morning they let him out. He came, unshaven and dirty to the pod. "Hey," he said. Miguel jumped off of Ryan's bunk where he had been laying and reading and grabbed his lover and held him tight. Julie, sitting on the floor, was completely silent instead of barking like she used to when Ryan and Miguel got close. 

 

"I missed you so fucking much, " Miguel whispered, holding him tight. "Go and shower."

Ryan did. It was Saturday, so the routine was changed a bit. There was really nothing on the agenda, so Miguel had planned on practicing commands with Julie. The dog worked very well in English and now they were working on the commands in Spanish. When Ryan came back, they lay on Miguel's bunk together with Julie laying on the floor. It was a perfect domestic scene-Oz style. 

A week later, the two were laying in Miguel's bunk waiting for dinner. "You know McManus wanted to separate us."

Ryan glanced down at Miguel, who was resting his head on his chest. "What the fuck? Why?"

"He thought since I'd made so much progress, I didn't need to stay here. Luckily Sister Pete and some of the other staff were on our side."

"Fuck. That would have sucked. I couldn't imagine having another pod mate, ever."

Miguel nodded, agreeing with the Irishman. Things were starting to look up for the pair; Julie had taken a liking to Ryan, albeit slowly. Davidson was out of their hair for the time being, but both men knew to keep their guards up, the tits were flowing nice and smooth like they should be, and they hadn't fought since Ryan got out of the hole. Ryan rubbed Miguel's neck, not able to shake the feeling of something bad happening. 

"I think that Davidson should also learn a lesson about messing with us, " Ryan commented as they both sat up and put on their shoes. 

"What you thinking, Baby?" Miguel put the harness on Julie and reached for the blindfold. As part of Julie's training, Miguel let her lead him all over the prison. 

"I don't know, maybe the guards. I'm starting to realize what the guy was trying to do- I figured it out in the hole. If he got in our grill about "fags" or "queers" he could make our gangs lose faith in us. I mean, now everyone just accepts us and no one thinks too much about it. But if it was in their face all the time, then he could cause dissent. What I don't get is why. He's not part of any gang that I know of. Nor does he sling tits. He's in for Vehicular Manslaughter. "

Miguel shrugged, not sure why the man was so adamant about messing things up with them. He made a mental note to get some dirt on the guy, figure him out. He, Ryan, and Julie made it to the cafeteria, getting their trays before sitting in their usual spot. Ryan saw Davidson eyeing them from his spot in line, the black eye he had given him still not completely faded. Miguel glanced up and saw Ryan staring daggers at the other man. He reached over and gave his hand a squeeze, trying to calm him down. "You sure did a number on his face, baby. That shits still bruised up."

"Yeah, well if he fucks with us again, that shit will be permanent."

The two continued eating, speaking in hushed tones about a future shipment of tits coming in.   
Davidson approached them warily, putting his hands up to show he meant no harm. Julie growled at the man, baring her teeth knowing he wasn't someone her owner(s) approved of. "I just want to let you know you don't have to worry about me giving you problems anymore. I was just trying to maybe do business with you guys. "  
Both Ryan and Miguel snorted at that. "Yeah, right, " said Miguel. "We don‘t have any business with you. Fuck off."  "

 

Davidson's face tightened at their rejection. Beecher, Keller and Rebadow were all coming over from the line. "We got a problem here?" Keller was eyeing Davidson like he wanted the man to fight him and Beecher laughed his crazy laugh. 

"No, no problem," Davidson moved to leave. 

"I don't like that guy," said Keller. "He's said some stuff about me and Beecher, too. But he went after you guys more. You know why?"

"O' Reily has some ideas," said Miguel. "We're just kicking back and seeing how it plays out."

After breakfast, Miguel went to work with Julie for a while. One of the instructors came up to him.   
"You have done a wonderful job with that dog. And to train her to respond to both English and Spanish commands. That was brilliant. She'll be ready to give to her recipient in a few days. Would you consider training another dog after her?"

Miguel had really enjoyed training Julie, but it had taken a toll on his relationship with Ryan. He knew that he would have to talk to Ryan before he answered. "Can I get back to you?"

"Sure, Miguel, sure. Let us know soon, though."

"Will do." Miguel slept on the idea of training another dog. On the one hand, he wanted to do it because he really enjoyed it and it helped break up the every day monotony of prison life. But then there was no guarantee he'd get another dog as good or easy to train as Julie. And his relationship with Ryan meant more to him than training a dog and potentially putting more strain on them. That morning before they each got ready for the day, Miguel brought it up to see what Ryan would say. "Julie's going to Rivera in a few days. They asked if I wanted to train another dog. 

Ryan shrugged. "Do you want to?"

"Kinda, yeah. I like it. I'm good at it but I don't want us to go through the same shit we did with Julie."

Ryan stayed silent, thinking it over. "I'm not going to tell you what to do, Miguel. If it's something you want to do, do it. I'll get over it. Some asshole dog isn't going to make me leave you."

Miguel smirked, pulling Ryan into a kiss. "Gracias, mi amor. I'll talk to the trainers later and let them know."

Ryan kissed him again before heading to the showers. He honestly wasn't sure how another dog would be, but he didn't want to control Miguel. And once Julie got used to him, he kinda liked her being around. It gave him an odd sense of having a family, something he probably never would've had on the outside, whether he was with Shannon or not. The day came where Miguel would give Julie to Eugene Rivera. Both Eugene and his wife came to the prison. Miguel presented him with the dog, explaining that he had trained Julie to obey commands in both English and Spanish. Eugene Rivera would have to come to the prison every day for about a month, in order to train with Julie himself. He led the dog away in her harness. She would stay with him even when not being trained. 

Father Mukada called Miguel into his office. Miguel noticed that Sister Pete was there, too. "Well, Miguel. That was a good thing that you did, training the dog in both languages. How was the experience for you?"

"I was glad to do something to help make amends," Miguel said. "They want me to train another dog."

"That's great. Are you going to?"

"Yes. I was worried that Ryan wouldn't want to but he says that it's something I am good at so I should do it. Even though Julie took some getting used to."

Sister Pete vowed to do a session with Ryan. He was coming up on six months post Chemotherapy testing for Cancer and she would have to talk to him after that test, anyway. 

Ryan finally had his meeting with Sister Pete. 

"How're you feeling Ryan?"

"Good. My energy level is back where it should be and I'm not irritable anymore."

The nun nodded, making a note of that. 

"Has your appetite come back all the way? You still look a little thin."

He shrugged. "I've always been pretty lanky, Sister. But for the most part, yeah."

"How have things been between you and Miguel?"

"A lot better now. For a second there, I didn't know what was gonna happen."

Sister Pete glanced at him. "Why is that?"

"With Julie coming into the pod, we couldn't really be ourselves and he was so focused on training her, we barely even spoke. But she got used to me...and all that shit with Davidson and going to the hole. I was just not myself I guess."

The nun made a note of that as well, thinking she should have a counseling session with the two in the future. "Are you okay with him training another dog?"

Ryan nodded, no traces of doubt in his face. "He's good at it and I can tell he really enjoys it. I love him, I'm gonna support what he wants to do even if it might suck."

Sister Pete smiled at that. 

Ryan was sitting in the Quad playing cards with Rebadow, Beecher and Keller when Miguel arrived with the second dog he was slated to train. This one was a male named Benny. Benny took immediately to Ryan, much more than Julie did at first. The problem came at night, when the dog became too affectionate and kept trying to climb into the bunk with them. Miguel was much better at training and able to send the dog to rest in the corner for the first night and they got to sleep in peace. This boded well for the future in the pod with the dog. 

 

Sister Pete had scheduled a counseling session with the two of them. Both Ryan and Miguel were baffled as to why she would want to do this, but they went along anyway. The Sister was their key to all sorts of extra privileges. Small things by outside standards, but big things here. She made sure Ryan got the letters Cyril sent him from the mental hospital. 

"How are things with the new dog?"

Miguel spoke up first. "Really good, actually. I think Benny likes Ryan more than me."

Ryan chuckled at that, nodding in agreement. 

Sister Pete smiled, observing their interaction with each other. Both men were relaxed in their respective chairs, both leaning toward the other subconsciously. There was a good amount of space between them, but Pete figured it was for appearances and not anything to do with confrontation. 

"Would you both say you're still satisfied with your living arrangements?"

Both men nodded right away. 

"Miguel told me McManus was gonna move him out when I was I the hole. I just wanna say thanks for being on our side." 

"You're both very welcome. You mention your recent trip to the hole. Let's talk about that. You said there had been some confrontation with Davidson. Can you tell me about that?"

"The fucker...oops Sister, I mean Davidson got in our face about our being together. "

"Why"

Miguel and Ryan looked at each other. 

They weren't about to tell each Sister Pete about their part in the tit trade. Ryan figured that she already knew and Miguel figured she didn't.

"We don't know…he had it in for us. We don't know why."

Sister Pete wrote something down. 

"What about your nightmares, Miguel. Have you been bothered by them lately?"

"Not much," said Miguel. "I did have one while Ryan was in the hole."

Ryan started. Miguel hadn't mentioned this. "Were you ok?" he asked his lover. 

 

"I was fine," said Miguel. The two men exchanged a look and Sister Pete wrote something else down. 

"I want to talk about your relationship. Have you two actually talked with each other about how you feel about each other?"

They both stared at her blankly. 

"What do you mean? He knows I love him and vice versa."

Sister Pete took her glasses off and leaned forward. 

"No, Miguel, I mean have you guys talked about WHY you love each other?"

Again, all she got was a blank stare from both men. 

She cleared her throat before look at Miguel. "Miguel, how do you feel about Ryan?"

He shifted, looking a bit uncomfortable. In his mind, he didn't feel he had to justify or explain how felt about Ryan to anyone but the other man. But the nun had a point; neither man really went in depth with their feelings. "I love him...he's helped me so much. He literally keeps me sane...I dunno. I've never felt this way about anyone before. Not even Maritza." 

Ryan started at that. "Really?” he asked. 

"Yeah," answered Miguel.

"And what about you, Ryan? How do you feel about Miguel?"

"Well," said Ryan. "I'm not the easiest man to get along with and Miguel took such good care of me when I was sick. Recently, with Julie, I was on edge and temperamental. He stayed patient. I never felt he wanted to leave me even when we were fighting all the time."

"You mention having conflict with Julie, the dog. How did you resolve that?"

"We didn't, Ryan got sent to the hole," said Miguel. 

"And when he came back, the conflict was resolved?"

"Pretty much," said Ryan. "I got back and we made up." 

"And Julie changed towards Ryan," added Miguel. 

"What about the guards?" asked Sister Peter Marie. 

"What do you mean? " Sister Pete didn't want to tell them that when McManus mentioned separating them, three guards including Mineo and Wittlesley threatened to transfer out of Em City and two others threatened to flat out quit. McManus wasn't sure of their relationship and didn't want to talk about it with them, which was part of why Sister Pete was doing this interview. 

 

"The guards seem to be very favorable towards you guys continuing to share a pod. Very favorable. Why is that?"

Miguel shrugged. Ryan had a feeling his connection with Murphy and some of the other Irish guards helped in his favor, but he didn't express that to Sister Pete. "I don't know. Probably because we stay under the radar. Until recently, we hadn't had any problems with anyone else."

Sister Pete nodded. She had to agree the pair were a lot more level headed than other inmates in their position. Fiona and the other gay inmates had a new drama almost every day it seemed, mostly out of boredom and Keller and Beecher's relationship had seen quite a tumultuous past. All other inmates involved in sexual relationships were prags and their dominant partners; not exactly a consensual thing. Ryan and Miguel seemed like any domestic couple on the outside. The nun and the couple finished up their meeting, each scheduling separate meetings with her in the future and made their way back to Em City. 

When they got back to Em City, Miguel signed up to go work with Benny and Ryan went off to sling some tits. Their sharing of the Tit trade with Pancamo had worked out very advantageously. They sold their own tits- anything Miguel could swipe from the Infirmary plus anything they could import through their respective gangs and in Ryan's case- through a couple of guards who brought stuff in. Being able to pay off the guards helped, for Ryan was sure that was why the guards ignored it when they found him and Miguel in each others bunks in the morning- something that was a strict no-no.   
Pancamo imported his own tits, but his operation didn't suffer from the competition; Ryan and Miguel. He used their gangs to run his stuff when he got big shipments. They had kept things running very smoothly now for over a year. The death of Adebisi had helped for the Homeboys never regained their footing in the tit trade. Ryan wondered if they were behind Davidson's attacks, for he felt it in his blood that someone had paid Davidson to start trouble--to bring attention to their relationship, to discredit them with their crew. He wasn't happy to see Davidson being escorted back into Em City.

"What the fuck is he doing back here?" he asked Liam.

Liam shrugged, just as baffled by the return of Davidson. 

"Go find out what you can, I gotta talk to some people."

Ryan got up, not waiting for confirmation. He headed toward Beecher and Keller's pod, knocking lightly on the plexiglass to get their attention. Beecher waved him in and Ryan took the seat by the desk. 

"That cocksucker Davidson is back. Something's up and I'm going to figure it out."

Keller raised an eyebrow at that, sharing the same feeling of distrust as Ryan. "How do you think he got back?"

"I don't know, I had my guys check things out. I think someone's paying him to fuck with us. He's gonna fuck up the balance we got going, I can feel it."

Beecher sighed, not wanting to be involved in the drama. "Maybe McManus brought him back for a reason...you know how weird that guy works."

"Fuck that, Toby. I'm with Ryan on this one, this bastard is up to no good." Keller and Ryan decided to go and have a little chat with Davidson. Ryan couldn't take the risk of the motherfucker stirring up trouble. There was too much at risk. He didn't want anything upsetting the delicate balance that they had right now. And, he wanted to protect that balance for Miguel--who needed it for his sanity. 

"Hey there, cocksucker," Keller greeted Davidson as he sat reading at a table. 

Davidson looked up warily.

"Wanna explain to us why the fuck you're back?"

Davidson just shook his head. "I don't know. I was just told to pack my stuff and a guard brought me here."

Keller and Ryan looked at each other, neither man believing it. Keller pulled a chair up close to the other man, getting in his face but speaking to him in a hushed tone. "Listen good, 'cause I'm only going over this once. Whatever it is you're trying to do around here, you better think again. You are in dangerous territory, my friend." 

Ryan's devious mind was clicking. From the look in his eyes, Davidson really didn't know why he had been transferred back to Em City. It had to be something with the tit trade. He would send Miguel on reconnaissance this evening. Someone was trying to mess up their hold on the tit trade. He could feel it in his bones. 

Keller finished making his threats and Davidson got that sly look in his eyes again. 

"I'm gonna go and watch some Miss Sally," he said. 

"I'll come too," announced Keller, wrapping his arm around Davidson. 

Ryan began to make the rounds. The first was Kenny Wrangler--who with Adebisi gone had no interest in anything but getting as much education as he could and never coming the fuck back. The lesson of Poet had stuck in his head and he had no real interest in running tits or trying to get a foothold in the tit trade again. Ryan and Miguel were more than happy to deal with the Homeboys and they usually used Poet to distribute among the Homeboys. He didn't steal too much and he was not ambitious. 

Wrangler and Poet were playing checkers as Ryan walked up. 

"What's up, O' Reily? No one's looking to score right now."

Ryan sat at the table next to Poet, deciding to get right to the point. "Someone is trying to offset sales in tits. You know anything about that?"

Wrangler shook his head and Poet just shrugged. "I've been hearing about some new guy, supposed to be coming to Oz. He's a dealer on the streets. Maybe people in here know him, trying to set it up so when he comes in, he'll already have some customers."

"You know his name?"

Poet shook his head no. 

"I'll find out what I can, man. You don't gotta worry about us though."

Ryan nodded and headed back to his pod. He needed to figure out who this dude was, stay ahead of the situation. Miguel came back from working with Benny and went to the pod. Ryan was already there, laying on Miguel's bunk. Benny gave a happy bark and jumped up on top of Ryan. Miguel watched, amused. Yes, Benny definitely liked Ryan better than Julie had. "So what's going on?" Miguel pulled up the chair. 

"It's possibly some new dealer awaiting sentencing that might be behind Davidson and the fag shit. You might want to check with your boys and see if they know anything." 

"I'll do that," said Miguel. He climbed into his bunk with Ryan and kissed him for a few minutes before getting up and taking Benny with him, he went to seek out Chico. Miguel found Chico sitting at a table alone playing Solitaire. He sat across from him, Benny sitting obediently at his feet. "You know anything about any new inmates coming into Oz? Rumor going around is some mother fucker's coming in here, gonna try to take over our share of the tit trade."

Chico looked up from his game, a thoughtful look on his face. "One of the homies on the outside said some club owner was getting sentenced soon. Could be him."

"Know his name?"

"Alonzo Torquemada. Some maricon." Chico said it before he really thought and quickly apologized.   
"Sorry hermano, you know what I mean."

Miguel shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Find out what you can on him. I gotta go." Miguel made some other inquiries and then returned to Chico's table. "Let me ask you something," he began. "How does everyone feel about me and O' Reily?"

"No one really cares," said Chico. "I mean everyone knows you two sleep in the same bed and all, but I don't think either of you is taking it up the ass and neither does anyone else." Miguel blushed slightly, remembering what Ryan had let him do a few weeks before. They hadn't repeated the experience since. "You guys don't coo over each other like the other Maricons and you aren't fucking in the showers like the prags. People forget that the two of you are together like that."

"I was wondering," said Miguel. "Because of Davidson. That's what he went after first."

"I was wondering why O' Reily went off on him," said Guerra. "Probably trying to gain allies for this Torquemada guy."

"Could be," said Miguel. 

He headed back to the pod and gave the information to Ryan, who had been doing his own inquiries.  
"This motherfucker is going to come in here and try to take over the tit trade. Probably finding out about fags to see if he can fill a stable full of allies," said Ryan. 

They went to dinner and then the guards called Lockdown. They settled in Miguel's bunk as usual, with the short sheet hanging over the end of the bunk to protect them from the eager eyes of guards and other prisoners. They weren't supposed to put a sheet up but Ryan had the hacks paid off to not say anything. They were both stripped down to their boxers and Benny was settled on the floor, sleeping.   
Miguel kissed Ryan, wrapping his arms around his lover.

"Do you think about us as a pair of fags?" he asked Ryan.

Ryan looked at him, a thoughtful expression on his face. "No. We're not gay."

Miguel snorted at that. "We're in a relationship. We kiss. We fuck. How is that not gay?"

"Well, its not like either of us has a choice," Ryan quickly explained himself at the offended look on the Latino's face. "You know what I mean. I wouldn't be with anyone else even if there were women here, but we wouldn't have come together if there was a choice."

Miguel seemed satisfied by that. Still, he wasn't sure what that made them. Gay, straight, bi? Victims of circumstance? "Would you ever leave me for someone else in here?"

Ryan laughed at that, finding the question absurd. "I wouldn't be with any other man ever. I don't find men attractive other than you." He ran his hand over Miguel's back. "Why? How do you feel about it? Do you think we're fags?"

"No, not really. It's like we're partners. We run tits, we look out for each other and we have incredible sex. I love you. And, I don't find any other men attractive. "

 

"So, why all the questions?" Ryan shifted and ran his hand along Miguel's side.

"It was something that Chico said," Miguel arched into Ryan's touch and shifted closer so that more of their skin was touching. 

 

"I know I don't tell you as much as you tell me, " said Ryan. "But I really do love you. I feel things for you that I never felt for Shannon. Or Gloria."

That meant something to Miguel and he pulled Ryan closer. "'I'm so glad that we came together," said Miguel. "That we're pod mates. I was going crazy when you were in the hole." They kissed for a while.

"Me too," said Ryan, his hands touching Miguel. “And I kept thinking that you were pissed at me because we weren't getting along." Miguel kissed him then and they didn't talk any more.


	5. Chapter 5

A week later, Miguel and Ryan were sitting in the quad playing cards with Keller and Beecher when the gates opened, signaling the monthly incoming of new inmates. Everyone watched in silence as they watched the new men closely. A biker, an Aryan, a Homeboy, a Christian, and then they saw Torquemada. Fiona, walking in wearing a ridiculous outfit and a smirk on his face, was escorting the man. Keller laughed, Ryan just rolled his eyes. Miguel kept staring, knowing he'd seen the man in passing on the street before. 

"That's the clown that's trying to take over our side of the tits? Really?"

They continued the game without much else said on the subject, but both Ryan and Miguel knew they'd have to look into this deeper. Later while Ryan was at work, Miguel was training Benny in the pod. He heard a light knock on the door and looked up, seeing none other than Torquemada. He nodded for him to come in, wondering if he could get any answers out of him. 

"Well, hello," the man cooed. He got right up in Miguel's personal space. The only other person who did this was Ryan and Miguel didn't mind it from him. Miguel greeted the man in Spanish. 

"Aren't you a beauty," the man was still way too close. "Alonso Torquemada. I hear that you and your 'boyfriend' are the ones to go to, to get titillated."

"Could be," said Miguel. "If you got money."

Torquemada just nodded, not asking to hook up. He bent down and tried to pet Benny, who snapped at him. "Why do you have a dog in your cell?"

"I'm training him. He's going to be a guide dog. For blind people."

"Ooh, yes, I heard. You blinded a guard. This must be your penance." Miguel shrugged. He didn't like this guy. There was something dangerous about him. He wasn't just a typical girly fag. He was looking at Miguel in a way that made him uncomfortable.

"Well, I need to let him guide me around." Miguel opened the door to his pod and let Alonzo out and then followed, having placed the harness on Benny. He gestured to Whittlesley, who was standing around. "I'm going to let him guide me to the cafeteria," Miguel told her. She nodded and made a note. 

"I heard that's where your boyfriend works," Torquemada waved and loped off. Miguel stared after him. The motherfucker definitely gave him the creeps.  Miguel was sitting in their normal spot when Ryan finally joined him for lunch.

"Torquemada came by the pod earlier. Motherfucker is creepy as hell."

Ryan glanced over at Miguel. "He did? What did he want?"

Miguel shrugged, taking a sip of his juice. "He said he knows we run tits in here. Knows how I blinded Rivera. Knew you worked in the kitchen. Fucking maricon."

Ryan stayed quiet, thinking he'd have to pay the man a visit as soon as possible. He didn't like how he knew all of their business, didn't like how uncomfortable he seemed to make Miguel. After lunch, Miguel went off to work in the hospital and Ryan went to hunt up a card game. He was sitting and playing with Hill, Keller and Rebadow when he saw Alonzo Torquemada watching him from across the quad.

"That motherfucker is creepy," Ryan commented. "He visited Miguel in the pod and he knew all our business. "

"Probably that cocksucker Davidson was giving him information while he was on trial. I asked around, they caught this guy cold for dealing some shit called d-tabs. Some shit that's similar to Ecstasy," commented Keller. "He had to know he was coming here if convicted and he's probably trying to figure out a way to sell that shit in here."

Ryan nodded. It was more than just a new introduction to the tit trade. He didn't like how the guy was watching him, watched him and Miguel eat lunch, and watched Miguel leave with Benny. That night in his pod, Torquemada turned to Fiona. 

“What can you tell me about Miguel Alvarez?”

Fiona looked up. “Honey, leave him the fuck alone. He's strictly off limits.”

“Because he's with that Mick? Fuck him!”

“No, honey, “ Fiona told him. “Stay away from Alvarez. You do not want to mess with O' Reily.   
People that mess with him end up dead. Billy Keane told me once, in secrecy, that he was sure that O' Reily had something to do with setting his brother up. He says he knows for a fact that O' Reily gave up Post to the Italians. His brother told him that. Now that was before your time. O' Reily starts sharing a pod with Alvarez and all of a sudden, El Cid's croaked. Now you repeat any of this and I will deny it but get Miguel Alvarez out of your head.”

“So Alvarez is giving it up for him. Out of what, fear?”

Fiona laughed. “Fear? Listen, Alvarez is crazy enough on his own but paired with O' Reily, they're a couple of sociopaths. Alvarez is with O' Reily because that's where he wants to be. He was in solitary for blinding the guard. He gets out, partners with O' Reily and El Cid's gone. Then they're running the tit trade. Adebisi always had a crush on O' Reily and Alvarez knew it. Now, Adebisi's gone.”

“Alvarez took care of him?”

“He's gone. Get Alvarez out of your mind. He might as well have 'Property of Ryan O' Reily' tattooed on his ass and who knows, he might. No one has ever been able to get close enough to read the script on his back. Concentrate on the Destiny. Everyone's going to be going crazy for it.”

Torquemada kept looking towards Ryan and Miguel's pod and Fiona sighed.  This guy would need to learn how truly dangerous Ryan and Miguel really were.  Over the next week, Ryan and Miguel were keeping a close eye on Alonzo. The man had been dealing in Em City, but not enough to be a threat to them or Pancamo. His only real customers it seemed were the gays anyway and they weren't on the radar with anyone else in the cellblock. 

"The way he's been dealing, he ain't gonna get anywhere."

"I dunno, baby. He was a big time dealer on the streets. He knows what he's doing."

Ryan rolled his eyes, knowing his lover was probably right. He was still trying to figure out a way to sabotage him, make sure the money stayed in their pockets. 

Miguel stood up, grabbing some clothes for a load of laundry. "You need anything washed?" Ryan stood up, grabbing a few things and dropping them in with Miguel's. "Watch Benny for me. I'll be back."

Ryan nodded, kissing the Latino before watching him leave the pod. 

Miguel made his way to the laundry room and saw Chico. He walked up to him, seeing the other man mumbling to himself and dancing. Miguel raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "Yo, man you alright?" 

“Yeah, man, just fine," Chico sing-songed. He continued to dance around and Miguel kept one eye on him but began to put his clothes in the wash. Chico was still singing and mumbling and he began dancing around in circles, like a dervish. "What the fuck?" Miguel thought aloud. "Yo, Chico. What are you doing?"

Chico stopped dancing and fell to the floor. Miguel laughed. "Man, what are you on?" A minute later, he began convulsing.

"Shit!" Miguel yelled for a guard. Two of them came running, along with many prisoners. 

They got a belt in Chico's mouth to keep him from swallowing his tongue and then they carried him to the infirmary. Ryan had come out of the pod with Benny to see what was going on. "What the fuck happened?"

"He was high and then he just fell out and started convulsing."

"What was he on?"

"Fuck if I know. Not anything we sold him. He hasn't bought anything from us in like three weeks."

They wandered over to Rebadow. The old guy always knew the story-or at least had part of it right. "Come on, Rebadow," said Miguel." What happened with Chico?"

"He's been getting drugs from that new guy. Torquemada, " said Rebadow. Ryan handed him twenty dollars. 

"Do you think that was the D-tabs?"

"Must have been," said Ryan. "We better get the shit hid- they're going to toss the pods for tits and soon."

Ryan and Miguel hid their main stash away from Em City, retrieving what they needed as they needed it. They kept their personal in a hiding space behind the toilet that Busmalis had helped them design. They made sure the pod was ready for a toss and that they had tits for themselves for the lockdown that would surely follow.

When the lockdown hit, they were shocked when Torquemada wasn't thrown in the Hole. He'd found a spot for the D-Tabs, a satisfied look on his face after the shakedown was over. Miguel and Ryan sat in their pod, fuming over the situation. Not only had the bastard got away without his stash being found, he'd been selling to one of Miguel's own. Guerra was still in the infirmary, thankfully not dead, but the drugs had done enough damage. 

"We gotta get that faggot out of here. He's stepping on our toes now."

Miguel leaned his head against the frame of the bunk, letting out a sigh of frustration. "I know, Ryan. I know. I just have a feeling this dude is dangerous."

When the lockdown was over, Miguel and Ryan found a table in the quad to play checkers at. Miguel went back to their pod to grab a sweatshirt when Torquemada intercepted him at the stairs. "Shame what happened to your friend, Miguel." 

Miguel scoffed, side stepping around him. "Get the fuck away from me you freak."

Torquemada just grinned, sliding his hand down Miguel's arm. "No need to be feisty, Miguel. Loosen up. We could do business together, baby."

Miguel jerked away, jogging down the steps back toward Ryan. Ryan had seen the whole thing, as had Keller and Beecher. Torquemada made to follow Miguel but pulled up short when he saw Ryan standing there. Ryan didn't say anything, just stared the freak down and then taking Miguel's arm, led him up the stairs, staring Torquemada down the entire time. When they got back to the pod, Miguel was shaking. "That fucking Maricon put his hands on me," he panted. 

"Yeah, " said Ryan. "He did that to unnerve you. He realizes he gets under your skin. 

There was a rap on the plexiglass and Keller and Beecher came in. "What the fuck is with that guy?"

"He has the balls to deal to one of Miguel's own. He has to be taught a lesson," said Ryan. 

"How?" 

"Fuck if I know. I could pay off a guard to tune him up, but I want to save that as a last resort " said Ryan. 

But Torquemada proved to be his own undoing. He dealt to a Wiseguy who OD'd. This time, the guy died. Ryan and Miguel were in the quad playing checkers when Pancamo summoned them. When they got to his pod, he invited him in. "Torquemada needs to go. He's crossed the line," said Pancamo. 

The three men talked it over and decided Alonzo needed to go. Ryan suggested they pay a guard off so it couldn't be pinned on them but Chucky wanted to handle it himself. "This guy needs to know that you don't fuck with wise guys."

Ryan and Miguel left the pod shortly thereafter, the details of the Italian's plan vague, but enough to keep them in the loop. He was going to wait a bit, let the news of Vincent's death calm down before he and his men mad their move. Ryan and Miguel headed back to their pod, deciding to lay low for a bit.   
"You think they'll finally be able to take that bastard out?" 

"No," said Ryan. "I think it will start a war. You and I both see this coming. Torquemada is too slick. It's almost as if he's setting this up. He should have known better than to even deal with a Wise guy. They usually do their own drugs, anyway."

Miguel shuddered. The guy gave him the creeps--especially the way he watched him and Ryan. The next morning, Miguel was in the infirmary when Torquemada was brought in with a cut. “Miguel, honey,” he cooed, waving at him. Dr. Nathan rolled her eyes but told Miguel to go and take care of him. Miguel approached him feeling apprehensive but hiding it with attitude. 

“What are you doing here, Maricon?”

“Got a little cut on my hand, “ he showed his hand. Torquemada worked at the dress factory.

Miguel went and got antiseptic and bandages and cleaned the cut in silence, Torquemada watching him raptly. “Why are you with him? What hold does he have on you?”

Miguel eyed him. “I'm with him because it's where I want to be and it's none of your business. I am telling you for your own good to back the hell off.”

He shoved the bandages at Torquemada and stalked away. Still, the man sat looking at him and Miguel had to go and finish wrapping his cut. “I'm not going to take no for an answer, baby, “ Torquemada stroked Miguel's arm and Miguel looked down to see a green Destiny tab in between Torquemada's fingers. He made to attempt to feed the drug to Miguel, trying to push it between his lips. Miguel grabbed it out of his hand and pocketed it. He gestured to the guard to take him away and then excused himself to go to the bathroom. He flushed the D-tab down the toilet.

When Miguel told the Irishman about this latest incident, it made Ryan jumpy enough that he no longer allowed Miguel to go anywhere by himself and Miguel and he didn't eat anything unless it had been prepared by Ryan himself. Still, Torquemada kept on. Miguel was in the pod one afternoon, reading before going to train Benny. Torquemada rapped on the glass. Miguel didn't want the guy in their pod so he went to the door. 

“What the fuck do you want?” He asked, speaking through the glass. Torquemada smirked in that way he had.

“Your boyfriend's nervous. I'm surprised he left you here alone.”

“What do you want?”

Torquemada moved forward and spoke through the glass. His voice was low and seductive. “It's fun watching the two of you. So nervous. So protective. “ He gave a wave of his fingers and sauntered off. 

That night in the pod, everyone was tense. Ryan and Miguel smoked a joint and stripped down to their boxers. Ryan went to the door, looking over Em City. He could see Beecher and Keller in their pod, arguing. He looked across and saw Torquemada watching their pod. He was glad that Miguel was back in the darkness.

“What is it, baby?”

“Torquemada's watching me. The fucker is trying to eyefuck me. Stay in the shadows.”

“Hell no,” said Miguel. He jumped down and joined Ryan, although the way Torquemada eyed his boxer-clad body made his skin crawl. Still, it was clear that Miguel and Ryan presented a united front. 

This continued for several nights, with Torquemada trying to eyefuck Ryan down every night or trying to catch Miguel alone. He watched their every move, smirking when Ryan's eyes met his. One day, Ryan decided that he had to pay Torquemada a visit. He caught him in his pod, which was all decorated with satin and sequins. Fiona took one look at him and took off. 

Torquemada didn't speak, just smirked at him with that shocking white hair. 

“I'm here to give you a friendly warning. You need to be careful and back the fuck off or this is not going to end well for you at all.”

“Ooh, a little over protective aren't you, sweetie? I've watched you hover over Alvarez. “

“Alvarez is not your concern. And I am not just talking about competition in the tit trade. The wise guys are livid that you OD'd one of their own. “

Torquemada made a dismissive gesture and Ryan rolled his eyes. This guy was too stupid for words and Ryan would dismiss him except he gave Miguel the creeps. 

“Consider yourself warned,” Ryan left the perfumed pod. 

Torquemada was a hardheaded fucker. He would not or could not stop his actions. There had been a couple more Destiny deaths in Genpop. Torquemada had the ability to pay off guards as good as Ryan O’ Reily did. He thought that this protected him from everything. Torquemada continued to watch and fantasize about Miguel Alvarez. He caught him alone one day coming back from the slinging tits.   
“Miguel, baby, “ he cooed. 

“How many times do I have to tell you to leave me the fuck alone, Maricon.”

“So feisty. But what happens when your Mick isn't around to protect you? You should be more friendly, baby, because you never know what will happen. “ Torquemada made to push a d-tab into Miguel's mouth again, but he shoved his arm off and pulled his shank.

“Back the hell off, “ Miguel said, his eyes glittering. Torquemada finally had a glimpse of ' Crazy Miguel' and it was scary enough to make him back off. When Miguel got back to the pod, he lit a joint and smoked against the wall to calm down. This was getting completely out of hand . The guy just threatened Ryan. That gave Miguel a start. Where was Ryan? He was in the kitchen. He was safe there because Pancamo was even more pissed at Torquemada than Ryan was. But the thought of Torquemada going after Ryan made his blood run cold. He decided not to tell Ryan about this latest incident. He didn't want to worry him and he couldn't think of any more security measures they could take. He tried to be in the company of his gang, Ryan or Ryan's gang whenever he could. There was nothing else to do. 

McManus, clueless though he usually was, had finally noticed that something was going on in Em City. Alvarez and O' Reily didn't move unless it was in the company of their respective gangs. Vincent had died of a drug overdose-something that had never happened before. And around it was that new prisoner, Torquemada. McManus didn't like the guy. He was too slick, smirked and watched too much. He had certainly seen this type before. McManus realized that no one seemed to really like Torquemada. Even the homeboys were nervous around him. What was going on?

Tim McManus stood at the guard station overlooking Em City. He needed to talk to a few people, but he didn't expect anyone to snitch. He'd already tried talking to Pancamo and his boys, they just acted like they didn't even know who Torquemada was. His next bet was Ryan and Miguel. He'd noticed the pair were extra cautious, never leaving each other's side. He signaled for Mineo to bring them to his office before heading back himself. 

Fifteen minutes later, the two were sitting across from McManus, wondering what the man wanted now. "I know Torquemada's up to something. I think you two know something."

Both men stayed quiet, not willing to snitch someone out, even if he was a threat. Instead, Miguel gave a half-truth. "I dunno, man. He's pretty fucking creepy, but we stay away from him." McManus started. For Miguel Alvarez to describe someone, anyone as "creepy" was telling in itself.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"He fuckin' watches every move Miguel makes," said Ryan. "It's like he's undressing him with his eyes. And, it's his drugs that are causing people to OD."

"Bullshit," exclaimed McManus. "I know that the two of you are personally responsible for a good share of the drugs that come in this place."

"Nobody's OD'd like this. This motherfucker is responsible for Chico flipping out," said Miguel, not acknowledging what McManus said about him and Ryan running tits.

McManus tried, but could get no more information out of them. He sighed. He knew a couple of people knew more about this. One was Rebadow, who knew everything. The other was Said. McManus didn't want to deal with Said just yet so he called Rebadow into his office. McManus decided to call in Rebadow and see what the old man had to say. "What do you know about Torquemada?"

"He's been selling Destiny since he came to Oz. He is responsible for the overdoses. He is trying to run the drug trade in Emerald City."

McManus knew the man had no reason to lie. He always knew the truth. Whether that was from him observing things or from God telling him was debatable, but Tim knew to trust what he had said. He dismissed him back to his pod and called Kareem Said in.  Said waltzed in looking confident as always. Tim knew getting any sort of cooperation for the man would difficult at best, but he needed to try.  McManus waited until Said had seated himself and then said, "What can you tell me about Alonzo Torquemada?"

Said snorted. "What makes you think I would tell anything, McManus?"

"Because there have been two overdoses in Em City and you are Muslim and therefore, anti-drug. "

Said snorted again but then said, "There have been more than two overdoses. Check Genpop. "

McManus nodded. "He has Alvarez and O' Reily freaked out."

"With good reason. That man watches Miguel Alvarez like a cat watching a canary."  
Alonzo Torquemada was not a stupid man. He knew all the buzz in Em City was about him, he knew Tim McManus was out to bust him. He felt it necessary to stir things up if he was going to be on top of tits in this prison. His plan had been to take out Alvarez and O' Reily until he actually arrived and saw how their partnership actually worked. There was something about Alvarez that caught his eye; maybe the handsome Latino could be useful for something.   
He spotted Miguel coming back from work duty, for once not shadowed by O' Reily and sauntered over to him. "Miguel, baby, when are you going to leave that Mick and join up with me? We could rule this place."   
Miguel looked around, trying to find Ryan, or even Beecher and Keller with no success. He would have to handle this motherfucker himself. "How many times do I have to tell you to fuck the hell off and leave us alone?"  
Alonzo just smiled, stepping even closer, invading his space. "I'm not going to stop until you're mine. I watch you with him. I don't know how you can stand his hands on you. He has no beauty, no elegance. Why are you wasting yourself on that insignificant Mick?”  
He ran the back of his hand across Miguel's jaw before slinking off. Alonzo Torquemada got back to his pod very pleased with himself. He had managed to unnerve Miguel Alvarez again. It irritated him how O' Reily constantly shadowed the man. Alvarez was quite the beauty but he was wasting himself on that crude Mick.  Speaking of...Torquemada looked up and saw one of the Irish hacks, Monaghan. Torquemada suspected him of being one of O' Reily's suppliers.  
"You need to come with me, Torquemada."

He got up and minced out in front of the guard. 

Ryan caught word of Torquemada putting his hands on Miguel again. This guy had used his last chance and now Ryan was done. It had to do with respect and not letting him take things over. It also had a lot to do with jealousy. He didn't like the thought of another person-another man-touching Miguel. He wouldn't let that go.  He'd sent Monaghan over to scare the guy a bit, maybe he'd have an "accident". Monaghan shackled Torquemada and led him toward Ad Seg. 

"Hey man, what have I done? "

Monaghan ignored Torquemada. He had a good thing going, dealing Heroin and Coke to Alvarez and O' Reily. They paid him well and he hid all the extra money--not wanting to actually get caught spending it. He now had four shoeboxes full of money he would spend when he retired. He would not let this scummy little fairy screw that up. Plus, he knew that O' Reily would pay a bonus if something happened. He didn't dare kill him, but he pulled him into an empty room and beat him, shoving his naked ass in the hole afterwards.

He met Ryan O' Reily on his way back. "I got his ass in the hole for resisting," said Monaghan.

"Good," said Ryan. "We're expecting that shipment from you tomorrow. I'll slip two extra benjamins into your packet.” Ryan headed into the pod, seeing Miguel laying on his stomach, his head turned to the wall sleeping. He sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand up his back, coming to rest on the back of his neck. Miguel jerked awake, shoving Ryan's hand away. He had a panicked look on his face until it was only Ryan. 

"Calm down, babe, it’s just me."

Miguel's face lost the hardened look, sighing heavily before laying on his back. He'd been dreaming of Alonzo putting his hands on him, saying nasty things to him in Spanish, taking advantage of him. He'd been forcing d-tabs down his throat, pushing his disgusting fingers past his lips to push the pill in his mouth. He shuddered at memory, both that in the dream and the one that had happened in the infirmary.  "You take care of him?" 

"Monaghan gave him a beating and shoved him in the hole. I'm going to have him taken care of while he's in the hole."

"Good," said Miguel. Ryan was surprised. Miguel didn't go out for blood, not the way that Ryan did. For him to want this motherfucker dead meant that he was truly freaked out by the guy.

Ryan stretched out next to Miguel and Miguel curled around him and fell back asleep. It was almost time for count. Ryan would stay awake until then and then join Miguel in his nap. He needed to figure out how he wanted Torquemada done, anyway. He didn't want the blood directly on his hands. 

Miguel woke sleepily for Count and then headed back down. "Why were you so freaked, babe?" Ryan asked once they had been counted and were in the pod stretched out on Miguel's bunk. 

"Nightmare--he was forcing me to take his drugs..." Miguel shuddered. "He has to die, Ryan. He just has to."

Ryan couldn't stand the fact that Torquemada was now tormenting Miguel in his dreams. He was going to figure out a way to handle him without it being brought back to them. He pulled Miguel closer, dropping a kiss to his head as he thought of ways to fix this. 

The next morning, Ryan made a beeline to Pancamo's pod. He knocked on the door, entering when the man gave him the okay. "How can I help you, O' Reily?"

"Still interested in avenging Vincent's death?" Pancamo smiled, summoning the Irishman closer. 

By the time Ryan left his pod, a plan had been developed and it was only a matter of time before it was set in motion. He went and sat down to join a card game with Keller and Hill.  "What's got you in such a cheery mood?" Keller asked. 

"Let's just say Christmas is coming early this year." Keller snorted. "Does this have anything to do with Mr. Torquemada, who currently is residing in the hole?"

Ryan shrugged, not wanting to give anything away. He was in an awfully good mood the entire day, though.  Miguel had finished training Benny and the dog had been given to a man who had been blinded in the bombings in Nairobi. Miguel had requested a third dog, but they were waiting for it.  Miguel was edgy all day, without the added distraction of training a dog. Dr. Nathan even gave him a dose of tranquilizer when she saw how worked up he was. Miguel got back to Em City and set to pacing the pod. Ryan knew from experience to simply leave him be and let him pace himself out. However, if everything went as planned, Oz would be placed in Lockdown fairly soon. 

It was an hour before night count when a lockdown was called. Ryan was watching Miss Sally and couldn't help the small smirk that came over his face. He saw Pancamo on the way to his pod and the Italian gave him a nod and a wink. The deed was done.  Ryan made it to the pod, Miguel having just woken up from the commotion. The Latino didn't know what Ryan had planned for Torquemada, so he was almost busting at the seams to tell him. He waited until they were all locked in, before looking at Miguel. 

"You know what happened?"

Ryan nodded. "That fucker's dead. You don't have to worry anymore, Miguel. I took care of it." Miguel sagged with relief. He had never met anyone who creeped him out the way Torquemada did and he had nightmares of him killing Ryan to get Miguel. 

"What happened?" Miguel whispered. Ryan slid into Miguel's bunk with him and wrapped his arms around him.

"Pancamo had enough. He needed to avenge Vincent. I don't know the details, but he paid a hack to get into the hole." Ryan didn't add that it was Monaghan who had been paid off by Pancamo. He also wasn't sure what the wise guys had done. “They had been pretty pissed about Vincent."

"But you helped arrange it," Miguel whispered. 

Ryan shrugged, pulling Miguel in for a long kiss. "I'll always take care of you," he murmured. 

That night, Miguel slept peacefully. Ryan's words "I'll always take care of you" spoke volumes of how much the Irishman really did care for him. He set up another man's death for him when there wasn't exactly any immediate danger. Miguel knew he'd do the same for Ryan, but he didn't think they'd ever have to face such a scenario. 

The next morning, they were still locked in their pod for lockdown, probably not getting released until the next morning. Ryan and Miguel decided to spend their time in bed, reveling in the feeling of pressure being lifted from their shoulders. 

"Thank you."

Ryan glanced over at Miguel with a slightly confused look on his face. "For what?"

"Handling Torquemada. I appreciate it, baby."

Ryan pulled him in for a kiss, stroking his cheek with his thumb. "I was gonna handle it one way or another, babe. He crossed too many lines around here. He disrespected you. Fucker had to go."  Miguel kissed Ryan, shifting so that their bodies were even closer. There was a part of him that was turned on by what Ryan did. He groaned as more and more of their skin came into contact. "He put his hands on you," murmured Ryan in Miguel's ear, his hands touching Miguel intimately. "Do you think I didn't see the way he looked at you, the way he looked at me? " Ryan pushed off Miguel's boxers. "You're mine--for as long as you want to be and nobody gets to touch you but me." Miguel arched under Ryan's touch and they were lost to the world for a good part of the morning and afternoon.  Ryan was sacked out in Miguel's bunk and Miguel was sitting in the chair, reading. He had gotten several books on training dogs and was looking for tips.

Murphy knocked on the plexiglass and informed them that McManus wanted to see them. Ryan woke up and put on a shirt and then they both followed him to McManus' office. When they got to his office, he was sitting on the edge of his desk. “Gentlemen, have a seat."

Both men sat silently, already anticipating what McManus had to say. Tim hopped off the desk, pacing in front of them. "Alonzo Torquemada is dead. I have reason to believe you two might know something."

Both Miguel and Ryan kept a straight face, knowing how to keep quiet in matters like this. "Why would we know something?"

"You had problems with him."

Ryan snorted. "So did 90% of Em City."

Tim rolled his eyes, knowing it was useless getting information out of anyone, especially for a murder.  "I think you know something. I'll get to the bottom of this."

Miguel spoke up, wanting to end this as soon as possible. "Can we go?"

Tim gave them a long hard look before nodding them off. "That is bullshit," exclaimed Ryan loudly, once they were let out of McManus' office. "How the fuck would we know anything? And wasn't he in the hole?"

McManus heard the whole thing and made a face. Nothing like this had happened since Dino Ortalani had been set on fire while restrained in the hole. Someone had let someone in the hole. It was definitely Wiseguys because they cut off Torquemada's penis and stuffed it in his mouth. That was a Wiseguy trademark. Warden Glynn had raged about this death--for the prison had been relatively quiet for so long--no major dustups between factions. It was getting so that McManus was feeling the Em City was a success. Miguel Alvarez had trained two dogs and was waiting for a third. Said had finished a new book. Poet had been published again. He was boasting successes. He was even thinking of starting a boxing match between the groups because things had run so well. Now this. With a sigh, he called Said into his office.

Said stepped into McManus' office, unsure of why Tim needed to see him this time. He'd heard of Torquemada's death but figured the Italians were the ones responsible. He sat in the chair, getting right to the point. "What do you need, McManus? My men and I had nothing to do with the death of Alonzo Torquemada."

Tim was thrown by the Muslim's forwardness, but continued with why he called on the man in the first place. "I know you didn't, Kareem. I just needed to know if you'd heard anything?" 

Kareem Said laughed. "Why is it you never have a clue, McManus?" 

McManus got mad. "Will you just stop your bullshit, Said? I'm just wondering what you heard?"

"The same thing you've probably heard. It was the work of the Wiseguys. No one will miss Torquemada. He was a troublemaker."

"Was Ryan O' Reily involved?"

"Check your logs, McManus. I guarantee O' Reily was in sight all day yesterday."

"That doesn't mean he wasn't involved," said McManus. 

"You'll never prove who murdered him and no one will really miss him. He had friends because he was dealing in poison but those types of friends go away."

McManus sighed in frustration. The Warden was angry and giving him heat for this. He had to get to the bottom of why Alonzo Torquemada turned up dead in the hole. He had been dead for several hours when found. When the lockdown was over, Torquemada's death was on everyone's mind. Ryan knew he had to figure out a way to keep the heat off him. He knew better than to snitch on the Italians; that was almost as bad as whacking them. The warden had been coming down on Em City, sending threats of taking away what little privileges they had left. He specifically threatened to separate he and Miguel if someone didn't start talking. He knew the man had an old grudge with Miguel, but he didn't think he would use it against him in this situation. 

He needed to speak with Pancamo, figure out a person to pin this on. He'd be damned if he was going to be separated from the Latino. They had a bit of time before they had to start serving lunch, so Ryan pulled the Italian to the side for a little chat. "They're trying to catch us slipping, man. We need a fall guy. Quick."

Chucky shrugged it off, apparently not too worried about it. "Blame it on a hack."

"I'm not willing to give up my connections."

Pancamo clapped a hand to his shoulder, pulling him in close. "Blame it on Metzger. The man’s a fucking Nazi anyway. It'd work in everyone's favor.” 

"Man, that's brilliant," Ryan served lunch and then went to talk to Monaghan. He gave the Irish guard enough stuff to plant on Metzger and then he went to the pod and waited for Miguel. Miguel had been having nightmares again lately, the warden's threat affecting him more than he let on. Miguel came back from working in the hospital. He looked haggard. 

"Don't worry," said Ryan. "I have it under control."

At this moment, Monaghan was going to the warden, telling what he 'discovered'. It was easy because Metzger had helped set up not only Beecher--who was not willing to tell but several other prisoners who were. They were only too happy to rat once they found out it was Metzger being blamed. McManus was surprised when it went from feast to famine overnight.  Metzger was not surprised when something was pinned on him. He had helped pin things on others too many times. He knew that it was fate. 

Warden Glynn seemed to believe Metzger was the one responsible for Torquemada's death, the grey cloud lifting once the CO was gone. Things were slowly getting back on track in Em City. The tits were finally starting to run like clockwork, Tim wasn't breathing down everyone's back, and Miguel's nightmares has lessened. They felt like they had room to breathe. 


	6. Chapter 6

Miguel was in the pod reading when he got a tap on the glass. He looked up to see one of his men.   
"What's up, Herrera?"

The other man stood in the doorframe, quickly relaying the message. "Morales is coming to Oz." 

"Morales?" Miguel had heard of Enrique Morales.

"I'm giving you a heads up, man. He's going to want to lead El Norte in here. "

Miguel thought about it. That was true. His vows to El Norte would make him accept this man's leadership. He would have to either work a truce with the man or get him taken out. He would need to talk to Ryan about this. Miguel went back to the pod and sighed. Everything had been going so well. He didn't mind giving up leadership. He was not the type of man who 'had' to be in charge. 

Ryan came back to the pod full of his usual pep and good humor. He noticed Miguel laying morosely on his bunk. "What's wrong, babe?"

"Enrique Morales has been sentenced and is coming to Oz," answered Miguel. 

"Who the fuck is Enrique Morales?"

"He's a major player on the outside. He's going to want to run El Norte."

Ryan snorted at that, laying down next to Miguel. "So? Tell him to fuck off."

"It's not that easy, baby. He's a boss. He's not like El Cid. He respectable." Miguel wrapped himself around Ryan. "Plus...I wouldn't mind if he took over."

Ryan sat silently. This would throw a wrench in everything. If Miguel was second in command, this Morales guy would come in and enforce new rules, probably try to cut the share of tits between the Irish and Latinos. This was not what he wanted to hear. "What do you mean? Everything is going so smoothly now," said Ryan.

“Yeah, but I really don't want to fight the guy for it. If he wants to lead then he should lead." 

Ryan really wasn't happy to hear this. He didn't want Miguel to be second in command. Ryan knew that he needed to make a plan to ensure that Miguel still had his hand in the tit trade. Furthermore, he didn't want Miguel in another "El Cid" situation where he was forced to prove his gang loyalty. If it came to that, he would take the guy out.

"So, what's your plan?" He asked Miguel.

Miguel shrugged, not wanting to have this discussion right now. 

"I'll figure it out when he gets here. Right now, I just want to lay with you." Ryan sighed, letting the topic go for the time being. He'd need to find out more on this Morales, see if he's any real threat. 

When Morales finally arrived in Em City, he didn't make a move to approach El Norte. Miguel and the rest of his men were cautious about approaching the man, not really sure what was the man’s angle was. Miguel didn't care either way. Ryan didn't trust it. Miguel had gotten a third dog- a handsome female named Sammi. He was working with her in the pod when Morales knocked on the plexiglass. Miguel motioned him in. 

"Enrique Morales," the man introduced himself. Miguel gave a short laugh. "I know who you are."

"You been running things here the better part of two years," said Morales. "There's been no major problems, El Norte has moved up in the tit trade and everyone seems happy with your leadership."

"Your point?"

"It's been said that I should step up and lead, " he said. 

"You tryin' to start a war?"

"No," Morales looked at him. 

"You want to lead, lead. I got no beef with that."

"Why?"

''Cause I ain't got to be the one in charge."

The impromptu meeting with Morales went better than Miguel thought it was going to. The fact that Enrique gave him permission to keep control over El Norte stunned him. It was a blessing knowing he wouldn't have to worry about his and Ryan's share in the tits, but he wouldn't have minded giving up control to someone else. Truth be told, he was tired of the daily grind of Oz. If he could just spend time with Ryan and continue to train dogs, he'd be completely content. 

He approached Ryan in the gym, sitting at the work out bench next to the Irishman to tell him the news from Morales. "You don't have to worry, baby. Morales gave me the go ahead to keep running El Norte." 

Ryan stopped working out and looked at him. "You don't look too happy about it" Ryan commented. 

"I'll talk about it with you later," Miguel looked at all the bodies around him, working out. He had signed up for Gym so he worked out for a while and then walked back to Em City with Ryan.

Once they got inside the pod, Ryan looked at him and said. "Ok, spill. Why isn't this good news?"

"It is," said Miguel. "But I am getting tired of it. I just want to hang with you and train dogs and not have to deal with all this day to day bullshit."

Ryan chuckled. "This isn't Club Med, Miguel. We don't really have much of a choice."

"Don't you think I get that, Ryan? We do what we have to, to survive. I don't know how long I can keep doing it though, baby." Miguel didn't want to cause a fight with Ryan, but he wasn't about to lie to him about how he felt. With what he'd done to Rivera, he knew his chances of ever getting out on parole were slim to none. If he got in anymore shit (which was fucking inevitable in Oz), he's sure he'll be serving a life sentence right alongside Ryan. The thought of never seeing the outside again was almost enough to break him down. 

He sat in his bunk, pulling Sammi up with him. This dog was a lot mellower than the other two, sleeping most of her day away when she wasn't being trained. Ryan sighed, not knowing how to fix the situation for his lover. All he could do was try to make their experience behind bars not suck as much, but even then, he could only do so much. Ryan sat on the bunk next to Miguel. "What's really going on, babe?"

"I don't know," said Miguel. "I just am so sick of the grind in here. I can't think about getting out and I can't not think about outside"

Ryan nodded, wrapping an arm around Miguel. He had gone through much the same thing when they had taken him to the hospital. The sight of the outside was enough to get him thinking. Ryan pulled Miguel in for a kiss and they were kissing, with Sammi in Miguel's lap, when there was a knock on the plexiglass. It was Morales. The two broke apart quickly, the look on Morales' face enough to let them know he didn't approve. 

Miguel pushed Sammi into Ryan's lap and got up to speak with the other man. "I'd heard rumors that you and that Mick were fucking, but I didn't believe ‘em. Makes me question whether a maricon can run El Norte."

Miguel clenched his jaw, trying to keep his cool. This was a powerful man, the last thing he wanted to do was disrespect him. "What me and Ryan do has no affect on El Norte. I can promise you that."

Ryan could feel the tension radiating off Morales. He wanted to help Miguel out but he knew this was a battle he alone had to battle. "I dunno about that, Alvarez. That fag Torquemada didn't last too long. Watch yourself." Ryan chuckled and Morales looked over at him, as if noticing him for the first time.

"Torquemada didn't last long because he threatened Miguel," Ryan commented, as if to himself, scratching Sammi under the ears. 

Morales raised an eyebrow and looked at Miguel, who shrugged.  Morales left, looking perplexed. He had heard that the Italians, aided by a rogue hack, had taken out Torquemada. But O' Reily's comment stuck. Morales first went to talk to Guerra. "Hey, Chico," he said. "What can you tell me about Torquemada?"

"That cocksucker? Gave me some of that shit he was dealing and I ended up in the hospital."

"Who took him out?"

"I heard it was the Wops, but who knows? Everyone hated that cocksucker. Ask around."

"Did O' Reily hate him?"

"Shit, he had O' Reily so paranoid I heard he was preparing Alvarez' food for him special." 

"What about Alvarez and this Mick, O' Reily.  I don't approve of Maricons."

"Man, don't worry about that. They hooked up and the tit trade took off. "

Then, Morales went to talk to Vasquez. "Tell me about O' Reily and Alvarez."

"They hooked up a couple of years ago and took over a major part of the tit trade. They've stayed under the radar and shit has run relatively smoothly."

Morales was torn. Everyone he'd talked to didn't seem at all fazed by O' Reily and Alvarez' relationship. Where he came from, being a maricon was wrong, made you weak. But if business had been running smooth despite it, he figured he'd sit back and let things continue as they were.   
He sought out Miguel the next morning while O' Reily was working. "What you guys are doing is wrong, a sin. But I'm not gonna try and fix what ain't broken."

He didn't wait for a response, just walked away. Miguel didn't seem to mind, just relieved the man wasn't going to have problems with him now. It'd been the first time since he and Ryan had first gotten together that someone was opposed to them. He didn't like the fact that the negativity was coming from someone of Morales' status in his gang, but he'd just have to deal. Miguel let things go for several weeks before confronting Morales.

"You don't like my relationship with O' Reily," he stated one day at lunch, when Ryan had served him his specially prepared lunch.

Morales looked at him. He couldn't find fault with Miguel's leadership with El Norte. What, he couldn't deny that Alvarez's relationship with O' Reily had him disturbed. "No, I don't," stated Morales. "I believe what you guys are doing is a sin. It's wrong. But, your friend runs tits well and El Norte has benefited from your partnership.”

"Then what is the problem?"

"I can't get that image out of my mind. The two of you kissing. It's so wrong. "

Miguel shrugged. Things looked different when you woke from screaming blood and no one seemed to understand you. Miguel hadn't thought about it before, but he would fight for his relationship with  
Ryan.  Miguel hadn't mentioned the conversations he had with Enrique to Ryan. All he let him know was that he'd still be leading El Norte. It hadn't seemed like a big deal to him until the last conversation when Morales said they disturbed him. 

It made him realize Ryan was the most important thing in his life. He never wanted to leave the man. He didn't care who tried to get between them, what stupid fights they'd get into. He'd thrown everything he used to believe in out the window and entrusted his life in another man, a convicted felon for that matter. If people didn't like it, no matter who they were, fuck em. He wasn't going to go and please other people. Morales continued to watch them. They didn't hold hands, mince or coo like the other gays. They were, however, very comfortable with their relationship and while they didn't go out of their way to show public displays of affection, they did not hide it, either. 

O’ Reily spoiled Alvarez at mealtimes, bringing him specially prepared meals like he was a wise guy or something. Pancamo was happy with Ryan's work in the kitchen and he let it go. Morales learned that this had began when Torquemada had been in Em City. Morales had been asking around and while he was sure that O' Reily had something to do with Torquemada dying, the Mick had covered his ass well. The more Morales asked around, the less anyone wanted to have anything to do with going against O' Reily. "That guy's dangerous," was the general consensus. 

Meanwhile, life went on for Ryan and Miguel. Miguel discovered that Sammi was the laziest dog he had ever met. She performed well if in her harness, but otherwise all she did was lay around the pod or the quad. Ryan had taken a shine to Sammi, much more than Benny and Julie. Miguel told Ryan that it was because he was always smoking weed in the pod, but they had smoked weed with Benny and Julie and they weren't as lazy. It wasn't odd for Ryan and Sammi to curl up in Miguel's bunk 

"That fuckin' dog, " Miguel commented one day while coming back from the Infirmary. He was walking with Chico and Morales. 

"What about her?" Chico was mildly interested in Miguel's work with the dogs. He wouldn't do it, but he liked seeing them. 

"She's so fuckin' lazy and Ryan doesn't help. All he does is smoke weed with her in the pod and then she gets stoned and falls out."

Chico burst out laughing. "You think I'm bullshitting. Watch. We'll get to Em City, we'll go to the pod and he'll be laying out in my bunk with that lazy ass dog next to him. And she won't want to do any work when I put her in her harness because he got her high." Miguel snorted in disgust. 

When they got to Miguel's pod and saw everything as Miguel had described, Chico started laughing again before going to hunt up a checkers game. Morales lingered a fair bit away where he could still see Miguel. He saw him go in and try and wake O' Reily. Saw O' Reily pull him down for a kiss. Blech. He watched as Miguel climbed into the narrow bunk with O' Reily, both of them laying on their sides like spoons and he watched as both of them lay there sleeping with the dog, like some kind of twisted family.

This was just wrong. 

Ryan was aware that Morales had gained some sort of interest in them. He had caught the Latino staring at them on several occasions, had even seen him watching their pod at night in disgusted fascination. He knew he had a problem with he and Miguel being together, but the way Ryan saw it, that was his problem. It was when he started hearing about Morales asking about his involvement with Torquemada's death that he had a problem. He wouldn't make a move on the man just yet, but if things kept up the way they were, he'd have to. 

It was just after lights out and Ryan was up using the toilet. His eyes scanned the quad out of habit when he caught Enrique Morales staring right into their pod. The man didn't have the best view, but he knew he could see just enough. Ryan got an idea, since the man was so concerned about them, he'd give him something to see. 

He lay back on the bed, pulling Miguel close to him. Sammi was up there too, so he softly nudged her to the floor. "Why you kicking her out of bed?"

Ryan kissed him deeply, running his hand down his side. "Enjoying some much needed alone time." 

Morales was watching Alvarez and O' Reily again. He couldn't stop. They both fascinated and repelled him. He watched as lights went out. He could see faintly into their pod. He watched as Alvarez slid into bed and the dog joined him. HE watched as O' Reily came down from his top bunk. That was typical. O' Reily hardly ever slept in that bunk, choosing even to nap in Alvarez' bunk. Morales watched as O' Reily used the toilet and then stood behind the bunk, probably smoking a joint or a cigarette.   
He watched as O' Reily slid into Alvarez bunk. This was another part of their ritual. Sometimes, they just lay there and talked and then O' Reily would go to his top bunk. That was rare, though. Mostly, they kissed and other things that Morales couldn't see but guess at. They had a healthy sex life.    
The thing was, he couldn't complain of Miguel's leadership in El Norte. Miguel kept discipline, didn't allow anyone to get too worked up on tits, and ran a shit load of pharmaceutical drugs and medical grade weed as well. 

Morales watched them so much that he knew that O' Reily watched him back, even when the Irishman appeared not to. He knew that O' Reily liked to make him uncomfortable, kissing or hugging Alvarez when he knew Morales was watching. Even worse when lights were out at night. Morales knew that things would come to a head with O' Reily soon. And yet, he was not eager to go to war with O' Reily for his research told him that the man was dangerous. 

A few weeks later, the stares from Morales were still going strong. It didn't seem to faze Miguel, but Ryan was over it. It was bad enough living in fish bowl-like pods, everyone having the opportunity to invade your privacy. The thing was, everyone kept to themselves. It was an unspoken thing in Em City. Morales didn't abide by that rule and Ryan was going to have a little chat with him about it.   
He waited until Miguel left to train Sammi to seek out the older man, finding him alone in his pod. He knocked on the glass, receiving a reluctant nod to proceed. "What do you need, O' Reily?"  
"I've noticed the looks you've been giving me and Miguel. You're not very subtle, y'know."   
Morales looked over at the man, not wanting to give anything away. "So?"

"So fucking cut it out. It's hard enough to live in Em City without your constant stares," O' Reily's green eyes were glittering as he looked at Enrique. 

"Why are you with him? I hear you're married." Ryan nodded. He was still married to Shannon, even though he hadn't heard from her in a really long time. 

"Why does it bother you so much? Everyone else just lives and lets live." Ryan asked him. "Why are you wasting time and energy staring at me and Miguel like we're freaks in the circus. If you want a war, we can do that."

Morales just stared at O' Reily, thinking over his next move. A war would upset the balance in Em City, in tits, in El Norte. He'd just have to bite his tongue until he figured out a better plan of action. "No need for a war, O' Reily. What you and Alvarez do is none of my concern, but I still think it's wrong. And cheating on your wife man...that's not right."

Ryan snorted in amusement. "Don't act like you've never cheated before."

"I ain’t never been married. And I never cheated on my girl with a man."

Ryan narrowed his eyes at Morales, ready to tell him off when he heard the pod door open behind him. 

"Chico and Jaime need to see you, Enrique."

Ryan and Enrique shared one more look before both men followed Miguel out of the pod. "What was that all about?" Miguel asked once Morales was out of earshot. 

"His constant weirdo stares," Ryan muttered under his breath. "I'll talk to you about it later." But, Ryan realized that this was something he had to handle himself. He didn't want to call into question Miguel's membership in El Norte because that would put him in danger. He could tell by the look in Morales' eyes that he would try to take them out the first chance he got strictly on his objection to their relationship. Cheating on Shannon with Miguel? Ryan had never, ever thought of it that way. 

Miguel had wondered over to watch some TV with Jaime, so Ryan retired to the pod. Sammi was sacked out on Miguel's bunk as usual. She lifted her head when Ryan came in and he went over to scratch her ears. "That motherfucker doesn't know who he's messing with," he muttered to the dog.  He started to turn over some plans in his head. He could spike Morales' food--either with poison or PCP to push him over the edge. He could try glass again--it had been a while since he used that. Ryan didn't have to worry about Morales for long. 

A few days after their little confrontation, all the men in Em City were sitting in the cafeteria, listening to the Warden rattle on about some new things that were happening in Oz. Halfway through, the dull drone of Leo's voice was cut off by panicked gasping and commotion. Everyone looked over in time to see Enrique Morales clutching his chest, staggering towards the guards, collapsing at their feet. 

Howell cursed under her breath before reaching down to check his pulse. All eyes were on her, not knowing what the hell was going on.  "He's got a pulse, but its faint. Get him to the infirmary."

Later when Miguel showed up for his shift, he didn't see Morales anywhere. He found Dr. Nathan sitting in her office. "What happened to Morales?"

She looked up from her paperwork. "He had a massive heart attack. How he didn't die right there is amazing."

"Shit. Where is he now?"

"We had to transfer him to Benchley Memorial. He's scheduled for surgery, but honestly Miguel, I don't think he'll make it." It crossed Miguel's mind that Ryan may have had something to do with this. He knew his partner didn't like Morales. He knew that they had had words regarding Morales staring at them. And, it happened in the cafeteria. Miguel thought about it through his shift in the infirmary and through the time training Sammi. Sammi was training up properly but it was taking longer because she was so lazy. He wondered if they had simply given him an older dog. When he got back to the pod, Ryan wasn't there. Miguel decided to go look for him, leaving the lazy Sammi in the pod. He found Ryan in the laundry room, doing their laundry. The system the two of them had was to simply take turns and then do laundry for both. 

"Hey," he greeted him. 

"Hey," said Ryan. "What's up?"

Miguel leaned in close and whispered, "Did you have anything to do with Morales getting sick?"

Ryan laughed. "No. Whatever that was back there was luck."

Miguel didn't look 100% convinced. Ryan frowned, not liking the fact that Miguel didn't believe him.   
"I didn't."

Miguel put his hands up in surrender, not wanting this conversation to blow out of proportion. "Okay, okay. I just know how you felt about him. And with you're track record I just thought..."

"Well you thought wrong. I bullshit a lot of people Miguel, but I wouldn't lie to you, especially about something like that."

Miguel stared at Ryan a little longer, looking for any signs of deception. The Irishman was telling the truth. "I believe you. I'm sorry I assumed, baby. Just had to be sure."

Ryan stayed quiet after that, turning to finish their laundry. It irritated him that Miguel had to question him like that. "He had a massive heart attack. He's alive, but they don't think he's gonna make it." Miguel could tell that Ryan was pretty irritated with him for asking about Morales, but he didn't comment on it until Ryan had shoved their laundry in the dryer and then stalked back to the pod. 

"I said I was sorry, baby," Miguel commented as soon as they were back in the pod.

Ryan turned and looked at him. "Do you really think I would do something like that, something that could affect you and your role with El Norte, without talking to you about it first?"

"No," Miguel said. 

"I admit I was putting some preliminary plans in place. But I would never have gone forward with any of them without asking you first."

"I believe you baby," Miguel said. Ryan lit up a joint and stood behind the bunks hugging the wall to smoke it. Miguel came over and stood behind him and wrapped his arms around Ryan's torso-kissing the back of the Irishman's neck. Ryan's breath hitched and he gave in to the caress even as his posture said he was still mad. Miguel knew that he would give in, though. The Irishman loved physical contact. 

"This was good luck, though," added Ryan. "It probably would have come to war." He passed the joint back to Miguel. They both looked up at a rap at the pod door. It was Jaime. Miguel untangled himself from Ryan and motioned him in. Jaime sniffed the air and held out his hand and Miguel passed him the joint.

"Any word on Morales?" asked Miguel. 

Jaime shook his head no. 

"You know as much as we do at this point." He took another hit before passing it back to Miguel. Ryan stayed quiet, not caring about the situation or Morales' health at the moment. Miguel could sense it and tried to wrap things up with Jaime.   
"I'll find out what I can. You and Chico stay at the phones, call whoever you gotta to find what's going on." The younger Latino nodded, heading out of the pod. Miguel turned back to Ryan, seeing the Irishman finishing off the joint. He sat in his bunk, pulling Ryan in by his belt loops when he walked past. "You're right, y'know."

Ryan looked at him quizzically. 

"About this being luck. He ain't coming back, baby. I can feel it." Ryan smiled to see Miguel so amorous. He suspected that death and danger made his Latino lover horny, but it could also have been the fact that Morales wasn't watching them anymore. "If he does come back, this is the kind of thing that takes the fight out of a person. We wouldn't have to worry about him," commented Miguel. 

Chico rapped on the glass and came in. "Jaime said you mother fuckers were smoking weed. Where is it?" Chico demanded good-naturedly. Ryan rolled his eyes and pulled out another joint, handing it to Miguel. 

"Any word?" Miguel lit the joint and passed it to Guerra. 

"He's still in surgery. That's all I know."  Chico hit the joint again and passed it to Ryan. He looked over at the floor and commented, "You guys getting the dog high," for sure enough, Sammi was snoozing on the floor. 

"They found a person for her. An older lady, an abuelita," commented Miguel. "She lost her sight because of diabetes."

Ryan looked a little upset at this. He had become very fond of the lazy Sammi. Jaime knocked on the door and came in. Miguel passed him the joint. "Any word?"

"He's out of surgery and in recovery. They're still not sure he's going to pull through"

Three days passed before there was any change in Morales' status. Miguel was in the infirmary, stocking things in the supply closet when Dr. Nathan pulled him aside. "Miguel, can I speak with you in my office?” He nodded and followed her out. Once they were both seated, he looked at her curiously, wondering what this was about. "Enrique Morales passed away this morning. He was fine for the first day, but then he took a turn for the worse. He was on life support, but his sister chose to pull the plug."

"Damn..." Miguel honestly didn't know what to say. He figured after three days he'd pull through, possibly come back to Em City. 

"I'm sorry for your loss, Miguel. I know you guys were friendly."

Miguel held his tongue about the friendly remark, but accepted her condolences anyway. He headed back to finish his shift, just wanting to get off so he could talk to Ryan. The grapevine moved news quickly and Ryan soon heard about Morales' death. Well, that was one less thing he would have to worry about. Ryan had been feeling sad, for Sammi had been taken to her new owner the day after Morales' heart attack. Miguel was signed up for another dog, but it would be a couple of weeks. The service dog training people were really happy with Miguel's training skills and they were very happy with the three dogs he trained--all trained to take commands in both English and Spanish. 

Ryan was also starting to get antsy about Cyril. He got regular letters from his baby brother, but he hadn't seen him in three years and he wouldn't see him. He hadn't heard from Shannon in a really long time. He had been wondering about that for a while. Every number he had for her didn't work and none of his friends on the outside knew where she was. He decided to call in a favor. Beecher had been paroled about two weeks before, much to the consternation of Chris Keller, who was trying to figure out a way to get him back in OZ. Beecher might be able to help find her so Ryan placed a call. He was surprised when Beecher came to see him a few days later (although he also knew that Beecher was here to visit Keller).

"Do you have any news for me?"

"Yeah, Ryan. It isn't good. I found her. She moved to Florida. I phoned her. She told me she's really sick. She has a brain tumor. She doesn't have too long."  
Ryan wasn't expecting that kind of news. Even though he hadn't talked to her in a couple years, even though his feelings for her hadn't been there in even longer, that was still his wife. Beecher had left Ryan her number. He was nervous to call her, feeling guilty that he hadn't been there to help her through this, or even been a support over the phone. The news of her illness was tearing him up a lot more than he thought. That on top of his recent sadness with Sammi and Cyril just pushed him into a deeper funk. 

He lay in his bunk after the meeting with Beecher, staring at the slip of paper with her number in his hand. He didn't even notice Miguel enter the pod. "What's wrong, baby?" 

"My wife is sick," he told Miguel. "Bad sick."

"Shit, " Miguel sat down on the chair, looking at Ryan in the top bunk. 

"Beecher got me her number," said Ryan. "She moved to Florida but now she's sick. He said it was a brain tumor."

"Did you call her?"

"Not yet. What the fuck am I going to say to her? Fuck!"

Miguel stood up and rubbed Ryan's neck. "Go and phone her and when you come back, we'll get high," he told him. 

Ryan headed to the phones, hesitating a bit when he picked up the receiver. He punched in the number quickly, hoping she'd actually accept his call. After a few rings, someone picked up. "Hello?"

Ryan almost didn't recognize her voice. "Shannon?"

There was a pause. "Ryan?"

He let out a nervous laugh. "The one and only."

The rest of the conversation went better than Ryan thought it would. It was awkward in the beginning, some of her old anger with him surfacing. But once they got on topic of her illness and his own second bout with cancer, things were normal. Or as close to normal as they could be given the circumstances.   
He'd learned the tumor was inoperable, but still relatively small. If things got worse, she would die. He made a promise to call her once a week to check on her before they hung up. "Well?" asked Miguel when he returned to the pod. "How did it go?"

"It went well," said Ryan. "Better than I expected. She has a small tumor. It is inoperable. They are trying to shrink it with radiation. She's not sure if it's working or not. I said that I would call her next week to check on her."

"Is she planning on moving back here?"

“No, her sister is down there. Her parents are dead. I'm the only one she has here."

"Hmm," Miguel fell silent. Ryan was quiet for a bit too. 

Miguel lit a joint and passed it to Ryan. It was almost time for night count and lockdown, anyway. They smoked in silence. Miguel knew that Ryan was feeling bad but he didn't know what to say or how to help. He wrapped an arm around his lover, knowing that the contact would make him feel better.   
The guards called Count and locked them in for the night. Ryan was still sitting morosely on Miguel's bunk. 

"I think I want a hit of H, " said Ryan. Miguel stared at him. They had only done it that once, a long time ago. They stuck mostly to weed and the occasional pill. Ryan must be feeling really bad if that was going on. Miguel got a tiny bit out and they both sniffed it. 


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, when he woke up, Ryan took another hit. It helped to take him away from his head, his worry for Shannon, his loneliness for Cyril, and how royally he had fucked up things. When Miguel woke up, he was surprised that Ryan was so stoned. Ryan's mood wasn't getting any better. That one hit of H had turned into a weekly thing, turned into a daily thing. Miguel stopped doing it with him, trying to get him to just stick with weed instead. But it had taken three months for Ryan to be in the grips of the drug. Miguel didn't plan anything for Ryan's birthday, knowing that he would just want to be high.   
Miguel was nervous that Ryan would fall back into his old addictions. He knew Ryan wasn't 100% clean of heroin, but he rarely ever did it since he'd kicked the habit years ago. It seemed like no matter what Miguel did to help him, Ryan just turned to the drug. 

Their relationship was suffering from it; all Ryan did was use and sleep it seemed. Miguel was grateful that he had another dog to keep him occupied, otherwise he was sure he'd be going crazy by now.   
He thought about saying something to Sister Pete, get Ryan help, but he knew the Irishman would probably be pissed at him. Miguel came back to the pod with Joey, his new dog, after a training session to see Ryan in the corner with a hit of H on his hand. He was nodding a bit, not noticing Miguel in the pod. 

"You gotta stop with that shit, baby. It’s turning you into a fucking zombie." Ryan didn't want to hear about stopping with H. It was helping to numb the sadness he felt. He had so royally fucked up his life. Shannon was sick and he was in here and could do nothing to help her. Cyril was in an institution for the rest of his life and that was a good thing- because he wasn't here in Oz. Ryan knew that he was hurting Miguel but he had to get through this himself. He worried about getting hooked hard again but he had gone so long without doing it that he didn't think about it now. He just needed the relief it provided. “Listen, " Miguel got down next to him and sniffed what was left on his hand. "You've got to get hold of yourself. All you've done for weeks is sniff heroin and sleep. You're not on your game with the tits. Your gang is doing fuck all. You need to get it together. "

But Ryan couldn't or wouldn't get hold of himself. After two more weeks of this, Miguel decided it was time for drastic measures. He didn't want Ryan to know that he was behind it. But, he knew what Ryan needed. He arranged to have Ryan popped with tits. Two weeks in the hole. That would clean him out.   
Miguel hadn't being alone in the pod, but he knew it needed to be done. He had sort of gotten used to being alone over the last few weeks, since the drug was more important to Ryan than anything else it seemed. While he was away, Miguel had plans to set things right. He was meeting with Meaney and Kirk to figure out who could lead the Irish and get their side of the tits back in order. He'd talk to Sister Pete about therapy sessions, maybe figure out a way for Ryan to speak with Cyril on the phone. He'd thought about calling Shannon, finding out how she was doing, but he thought that might be crossing a personal line. He'd figure that out later. 

Ryan, on the other hand, was livid. He knew Miguel was the one who got him busted. He never got in trouble for tits. He always knew ahead of time when a shakedown was happening, he or Miguel always moved their drugs. There was no other explanation for this. Those first two days were Hell. The withdrawals were horrible, the loneliness was getting to him, he felt like death would be better than that shit. By day six, his mind started to focus again. He thought about all his anger and aggression toward Miguel and saw that what the Latino did was out of love, for his well-being. By day 11, his mind was as strong as it could be given the circumstances. He was figuring out ways to make up for lost time and money in tits and how he was going to make up for his shitty behavior to Miguel. Finally, Ryan's two weeks were over. He was clean of the Heroin and contrite for how he had acted towards Miguel. He walked like in a daze back to the pod. Miguel was waiting, putting Joey into his harness. Ryan realized that he barely knew this dog. He had been so out of it. 

"Hey, " he said.

"Hey," said Miguel. His eyes were wary. "How are you?"

"Better," Ryan commented. "Thanks. " He was gathering all of his stuff up for the shower. He knew he had to smell rank and he wanted to get out of the prison uniform he was wearing and change into his own clothes. But not until he was clean. He reached out and squeezed Miguel's hand before hurrying to the shower. The shower had never felt so good. Ryan felt clean and brand new. He was going to talk to Miguel. Then he was going to call Shannon. Then he was going to fix whatever he fucked up.   
He strode back across the quad in his towel and once in the pod began pulling his clothing HE smiled when Miguel wrapped his arms around him and asked. "Are you all right now, Baby?"

"I am now," said Ryan, leaning back into Miguel's embrace. "Thank you for doing what you did. I'm thinking a lot clearer now. So how badly did I fuck up?"

“It was getting pretty sketchy there for a minute," Miguel said truthfully. "Your men really stepped up and took control of the situation with tits though."

Ryan nodded, making a mental note to speak with Kirk later. "I meant with you, Miguel."

The Latino let go of Ryan and took a seat in his bunk. "You can't do anything that's gonna make me leave you, baby. I just hated seeing you like that, knowing there was no way for me to help or get through to you."

Ryan stayed quiet, feeling guilty about how he'd been. "You deserve better than me. I love you so much and I treat you like shit whenever I can't deal. I'm sorry”

"Come here," Miguel said softly. Ryan came and sat next to him. "This place is a pit and it gets to everyone at times. I've been able to deal better since I started training the dogs, but I understand what happened. " He leaned over and kissed Ryan. "I love you too, baby, and I ain't going anywhere. We ain't doing H no more, though, I know that."

Ryan nodded. Detoxing hadn't been fun and Ryan still didn't feel 100 percent. "Grab me some vitamins from the hospital today, will you?" he asked. 

"No problem. Here comes Kirk. I'm going to go. " He left taking Joey with him. 

Kirk entered the pod. "Give it to me straight," said Ryan. "What's the score on the tits?"

"Could've been a lot worse. Luckily Alvarez came to us when he did, gave us time to get things where they should be."

Ryan nodded, glad that at least one thing was taken care of. "I'm gonna need you and Meaney to keep doing what you've been doing for a couple more days, just to give us a little cushion. We've got a pretty big shipment coming at the end of the week."

Kirk nodded, heading out of the pod shortly after to pass the word on to Meaney. Ryan headed to the phones, he hadn't spoken to Shannon in over a month. Shannon sounded glad to hear from him. She was doing okay. The radiation had shrunk the tumor and the doctors even thought it might be gone. She was doing good for now. The problem was that even though she had some insurance, she had used all her savings and was deeply in debt for medical bills. Ryan smiled. This was a problem he could actually help with. Ryan made fairly decent cash selling tits. A lot of this went to paying off the guards. Ryan usually gave the rest to Miguel, who would sneak it to his mother and sisters when they came to visit. Still, Ryan knew that he had at least a thousand dollars hidden in the pod, oddly enough. HE would get it out to Shannon somehow. 

"Listen, " he said. "I can send you something. But it is coming from here and it's cash. SO, if you get any packages from me, hang on to it. I am going to have to be clever to get it past these fucks."

Shannon laughed and it sounded good to hear it.  "Same old Ryan, " she said before hanging up. 

By the time Miguel got back to the pod, Ryan was laying in his bunk sleeping. Miguel knew he was still pretty low on energy and it would take him a few days to full bounce back. The Latino was able to swipe a whole bottle of vitamins for his lover, something he knew Ryan would be grateful for. He took Joey out of his harness and lay next to Ryan, kissing his neck a few times. He really missed the closeness and intimacy while Ryan had been gone. They had been through a lot of things in the past few months, Miguel wanted to do something special for Ryan, he just didn't know what. Ryan felt the kisses on the side of his neck and opened his eyes, turning to face Miguel. 

"How you feeling, baby?"

"Tired, but good. I talked to Shannon. She's doing a lot better."

Miguel smiled, glad to hear that. He was surprised he was jealous of the extra attention Ryan had been giving her, but he wasn't in the slightest. "That's good to hear." He sat up and reached into his pocket. "Here's those vitamins you wanted." 

"Thanks," Ryan got up and put them away before climbing back into bed with Miguel. Ryan had really missed Miguel when he was in the hole. He pulled Miguel close and they kissed for a few minutes.   
"Listen, " said Ryan. "I have to send Shannon some money. She has alot of medical bills."

"We can do that tomorrow. I can give you some too. My mom and sisters aren't coming this month, anyway." 

"Thanks," said Ryan, reaching for Miguel. He felt as he had earlier that day. Miguel was so good to him. 

Ryan sighed. "What's wrong, baby?" Miguel asked.  
"You're so good to me," Ryan commented. "You really are. And I'm such a shit when I can't handle. And you're just there, helping me supporting me. I love you, Miguel. I don't know what the fuck I did to deserve you, but I couldn't deal without you."

Miguel chuckled. "Don't worry about that, baby. I love you as much as you love me and I'm not going anywhere."  He kissed Ryan passionately, pulling him close. 

By the end of that week, everything was set straight for the two. Ryan had sent Shannon close to $1500, the tits were flowing perfectly, Joey was proving to be quite the super dog, and Ryan and Miguel were able to relax knowing there were no threats to them for the time being.

Miguel was in the infirmary for work and Ryan was in the pod, reading one of Miguel's dog training books when he got a knock on the pod door. It was Sister Pete. He motioned for her to come in, marking his place in the book before shutting it. "Hey Sister, what's up?"

"I heard about your stint in the hole. You were detoxing from heroin...how are you doing?"

Ryan nodded, a little weary about where this was going. He didn't feel like being lectured for his mistakes again. "I'm good. Now I am. I wasn't for a while there. But I have Miguel to thank for that. He's the one that forced me to get my shit together."

Sister Pete looked please. "I want to schedule some therapy sessions with you, maybe you can come drug meetings again?"

Ryan shrugged, wanting to think if over a bit. "I'll get back to you on that, Sister."

"I would at least like to be able to get you in for a therapy session. It's been a while since you've had one. You hadn't done drugs in a long time and you spiraled down for a reason. "

"Fair enough, Sister, " he said. 

"Can you come to a speak to me tomorrow?"

"Okay, " said Ryan.

"So, "she said the next day when they were in session. "Why did you spiral down on heroin so bad that you were detoxing in the Hole?"

"I don't know, Sister. It was alot of things. My wife has a brain tumor. Sammi got a new owner. I haven't talked to Cyril in a really long time. I just felt like such a fuck-up."

"And now?" 

"I still feel like a fuck-up but I'm handling it better. I just feel bad for Miguel. He always has to put up with my shit. He doesn't deserve that."  
"Miguel loves you very much, Ryan, " said Sister Pete. "I'm sure he doesn't look at it like that. "

"I love him too, Sister. I love him so much. I don't want to fuck up again because I don't want to disappoint him again."

"Did Miguel say he was disappointed in you?"

"No, he said nothing I do can make him leave me. But now, I want to stay off heroin because I don't want to disappoint him. "

"Who was Sammi?"

"Hmm?"

"You said, 'Sammi got a new owner. Was that one of the dogs Miguel trained?"

"Yeah," said Ryan smiling a little. "She was real sweet. She would snooze in Miguel's bunk with me. He'd get in and the bunk would be full of dog hair but Miguel didn't care. She's guiding a sweet old lady, now."

Sister Pete smiled at the image that brought. "Have you given any more thought to coming to some drug meetings?"

Ryan nodded. The classes were boring, but he really wanted to be better. If not for himself, then definitely for Miguel. "I'll do em. I don't want to ever been that vulnerable and end up like that again."  
The nun made a note of that, telling Ryan what days the meetings would be. "You also mentioned you haven't heard from Cyril lately. Why is that?"

"I dunno. He was sending me letters every few weeks, but I haven't heard from him in almost 2 months."

"I'll make some calls, find out what I can for you." Sister Pete was as good as her word. It turned out that some lame ass administrator didn't think that Cyril writing to his brother was important. Sister Pete went over to the Asylum personally and spoke to Cyril. Cyril was just as upset that he hadn't heard from Ryan. Sister Pete decided to pick up a phone card so that Ryan could call Cyril and vice versa. It was only 20 dollars but would give them some peace of mind. The brother's were too close to let them drift like that. 

Ryan went to the drug meetings, with Hill and some of the other guys. He found it boring, especially since he hadn't sworn off weed and neither had Miguel. Still, he knew that he wasn't smoking weed to escape and that was what he was doing with Heroin.  He found some of the platitudes to be useful and others to be completely bogus. Still, it helped him stay clean. Sometimes he had a real craving for H and the forgetfulness that it could bring. He always thought of Miguel, though and that helped keep him straight. Ryan decided that he wanted to do something nice for Miguel. Miguel's birthday was coming up and he wanted to show him how much he loved him. 

Miguel was really excited to see the progress Ryan was making. Ever since he'd started going to meetings, he'd really been making the effort to stay clean of Heroin. He could sense when he was craving it at times, but he never gave in. He was also learning how to deal with his issues better, finding other ways to take out his frustrations. It made Miguel proud to see him really trying to change. It was approaching Miguel's birthday, but he wasn't really thinking too much about it. Birthdays in Oz were never really anything worth celebrating, just another reminder of another year of your life spent behind bars. The last birthday they'd spent in lockdown, not really having much of an opportunity to make it fun. The Latino had a sneaking suspicion his lover was planning something though. He had that determined look in his face whenever he was in the midst of planning something. Ryan had thought long and hard about what to do for Miguel for his birthday. He finally enlisted the help of Sister Pete.

"I want to do something nice for Miguel. His birthday is coming up. He's done so well with training the dogs, I wonder if you can arrange for Sammi and Benny's owners to meet him. He's so good at training dogs."

Sister Pete thought that this was a good idea. She knew that birthdays in prison could be hard. And, Miguel had made a wonderful turnaround for himself. Putting him with O' Reily and letting him train the dogs had been brilliant. She decided to go to McManus and ask him what could be arranged.   
That taken care of, Ryan called Shannon for help with the next part of his surprise for Miguel.   
Surprisingly, McManus agreed to arranging the meeting with the owners of the dogs Miguel had trained. He had no reason to say no, the Latino hadn't been in any trouble since moving in with Ryan. Sister Pete was even able to have it set up for his actual birthday, whether McManus realized that or not, she didn't know. 

She spoke with Father Ray and the two decided to do something nice for Miguel as well. They found out what Miguel's favorite food and deserts were and they planned to bring it for him. They'd have to serve it in one of their offices', but Sister Pete would figure out a way to get some leftovers for him to take back to the pod. 

Ryan had just gotten off the phone, finishing setting up his plan with Shannon. Everything was falling into place better than he expected. Ryan couldn't tell Shannon the truth about Miguel, obviously. However, he did say that Miguel was his cellmate and that he had helped Ryan through some tough times and that he wanted to do something special for his birthday. He wanted something from outside. And something from Florida. He would have preferred something from Cuba but that wouldn't work. Luckily, Shannon lived about an hour from Miami, which had a large Cuban population. She professed herself able to take a bus (the tumor had affected her ability to drive) and go and fetch Ryan what he needed. 

The question was what would he need? Ryan had a strong identity with being Irish. Miguel had told him he was Cuban and told him stories about his grandmother, grandfather (not the man he knew in Oz, but the stories his grandmother had told him), his mother. But Ryan couldn't get a sense of this by much. In desperation, he went to Eduardo and wrote a note. Eduardo suggested (wrote down) several different Cuban musicians but after asking Miguel about them and finding he had no idea who they were, Ryan rejected that idea. Still, he would ask Shannon to pick up the CDs because it might make Eduardo happy. Finally, he just asked her to go to Miami, pick up anything she thought would be appropriate, and hoped for the best. It was something from the outside, it was intended to be good. When he got the box, he realized that Shannon had sent several steamy novels in Spanish, some silk boxers that were in Ryan's size, a Cuban flag, two books about Che Guevara, the CD's for Eduardo and four books on dogs, which she must have sent because he told her about Miguel training dogs. She also sent some sand in a box, which didn't make sense to anyone but Ryan paid off the Aryans in the mailroom to just pass through. He was ready for Miguel's birthday.

Miguel woke up on the morning of his birthday not really expecting anything major. He knew his mother and sisters were visiting and would more than likely be bringing him some sweets. Other than that, he figured it'd be like any other day in Oz. After his visit with his family, he was sitting in his pod, vaguely aware of the fact that he'd barely seen or talked to Ryan the whole day. It was still early, but that thought was a little unsettling.

He headed to his training class, shock to see Benny and Sammi there. He enjoyed the visit, wishing Ryan could be there to see Sammi. He knew the Irishman would have appreciated it. Before the training class was all the way over, a guard escorted him to Sister Pete's office, not giving him a reason. It dawned on him then that something was up. When he got to her office, Sister Pete and Father Mukada were in there, along with his father and a desk full of his favorite foods-arroz con pollo* and plantains. He could barely contain the smile that crossed his face.

"Happy birthday, Miguel."

"Thank you, Father, Sister Pete. You guys didn't have to do all this for me."

"Nonsense, Miguel, you've done so good these past few years, it's the least we could do."

Miguel's father handed him a letter and pulled him into a hug. This was the first real birthday of Miguel's life that they were spending together now that he thought about it. He pocketed the letter, vowing to read it later on and turned back to the desk, ready to enjoy some real food for once.  
Ryan was waiting in the pod, making sure everything was set up the way he wanted it. He felt bad about not spending the first half of the day with the Latino, but he wanted to focus on getting things just right for when he returned to the pod for lockdown.

Ryan had gotten some streamers and a cake by paying off the Hacks. He added the stuff that Shannon had sent, including the box of sand, which he set on the desk. The rest of Miguel's gifts, he had placed in the box Shannon sent them in (except for Eduardo's CD's-which he had delivered to him yesterday. For the first time in history, Miguel's father had given him a smile with teeth and patted him on the arm.) 

The pod looked very festive and guys kept coming by and giving commentary, especially Rebadow who kept insisting that God told him how Miguel wanted the pod decorated and Hill, who was just naturally nosy. Keller- who had been a bear since Beecher got paroled-watched with his eyes glittering. Ryan knew that he had been thinking about ways to break Toby's parole and had mentioned this to Toby when he had been helping Ryan find Shannon. Toby broke off all contact with Keller and changed his number. Now, Toby was running a PI service and making some money. He was raising his kids and forgetting about Oz. 

Miguel finally returned to the pod, bringing Joey. He didn't want to leave him in the kennel. He gasped to see the pod done in blue and red paper, and a cake (also blue and red) sitting on the desk as well as box. "Happy Birthday, Miguel," Ryan said softly. 

Miguel was smiling broadly, something he hardly ever did. "I was wondering where you had been today". He smiled at the stuff in the Pod. He had a Styrofoam container with the remains of his birthday food which he wanted to share with Ryan. Miguel put his food on the desk with the rest of his birthday things and pulled Ryan into a tight embrace. This whole day had been awesome, but coming into their pod and seeing just how much Ryan put into everything pretty much left him speechless. "This is awesome, baby. Who woulda thought the best birthday I've had since I was 7 would've been in prison?"

Ryan laughed a little at the irony, holding onto Miguel just as tightly. The two shared a series of drawn out kisses with words of endearment intermingled. Finally Ryan pulled away, wanting to show Miguel his gifts. "I know it's not much, but I did the best I could. I hope you like it, babe. "

"You didn't have to get me anything, Ryan. You being here is enough for me, you know that."

"You deserve it. With all the shit you've put up with from me, it was the least I could do. Now come on, open your gifts." Ryan led Miguel over to the box on the desk with the gifts piled inside.

"I should probably explain, "' said Ryan. "I sent Shannon on a bus to Miami to buy this shit. Some of the things were a little...odd"

Since the first thing that Miguel pulled out of the box was the steamy novels, he started to laugh delightedly. "These are fine and I can give them to my sisters when I'm done, " he said. He equally liked the rest of the gifts and after lining them all up on the desk, He pulled Ryan into his lap and kissed him senseless. "Thank you, Baby. Thank you so much! It's been such a great day. "

"Come on," Ryan sat on Miguel's bunk and lit a joint. They had decided the day that Ryan got out of the hole that this would be the one vice they would both use to cope (besides good old tobacco, of course). No H, No pills that weren't prescribed for either of them. Miguel was still pretty heavily medicated by Dr. Nathan-who didn't want to change this because Miguel had been doing so well.   
Miguel went to sit beside him and they curled around each other and smoked the joint. 

"I have the rest of my birthday lunch, " said Miguel when they finished. "When we get the munchies, we can eat that." The truth was, they both smoked so much weed that they didn't really get the munchies anymore. But Ryan was interested in what Miguel had for lunch. Any difference from the plain cafeteria food was welcome. 

They lay back in Miguel's bunk. They were locked in for the night and there was nothing to do but kiss and enjoy each other. "Thank you, " Miguel kept saying, overwhelmed at his birthday. They both undressed, cuddling under the blanket. 

That night, neither man got any sleep. They weren't upset about it though, both preferring a night of fantastic sex than worrying about being a little tired the new morning. Miguel still couldn't wipe the smile off his face. All the gifts he'd received, the surprise of normal food and seeing Sammi and Benny was more than he could ever ask for. He vowed to make the same effort for Ryan on his birthday. It still wasn't for a couple months, but it didn't hurt to plan ahead. 

That morning, as he was getting ready for his work detail, Miguel remembered the letter from his father. He decided to take it out and read it quickly before work.  
Dear Miguel,  
You cannot imagine the sadness I felt when I saw you here in Oz. I knew then that I had failed you, just as Ricardo had failed me. I felt even more sadness when you took that man's eyes. But things have changed. You have changed. You do much good with the dogs. You show wise leadership in El Norte.   
The Irishman is good for you. I know that on the outside, it is wrong for two men to be together. But here, no one knows how lonely it can be, how much someone to watch your back is needed. You have made me proud, son, all on your own.   
Eduardo Alvarez

When Miguel got to the Infirmary, he smiled at his dad, who was listening to music on headphones. Eduardo came over to Miguel and let him listen to the music. He smiled and went away. 

Miguel looked up a little while later and was surprised to see Chris Keller there. Ever since Beecher had left, the man had been on edge. People knew better than to fuck with him so everyone, including Ryan and Miguel, kept their distance. He walked up to his bed, looking to see what his injury was. "What's got you in here today, man?" Keller held up his arm to show a long deep cut.

"How did you do that?" Miguel asked. Keller shrugged. He had been angry for months.   
   
"What the fuck is up with Keller?" Miguel asked Ryan that night when they were in their cell. 

"He's pissed that Beecher is gone. He needs a new playmate."

"You plannin' on doing the matchmaking?" Ryan snorted, knowing better than to try to intervene in the other man's life. He knew they were gonna have to figure something out for him though. Keller with too much time on his hands was too dangerous of a situation for everyone. 

"I don't know any people that would want to fill that position. I'll figure out a way to get him a distraction." Ryan had an idea to at least keep him distracted from the outside. Shannon was lonely in Florida, only having her sister and the occasional phone call from Ryan. He figured if he gave her address to Keller, they could occupy each other’s time. 

Shannon was agreeable enough to exchange letters with  "one of your friends from Prison.". The first couple of weeks, Keller seemed apprehensive, but then the letters started flowing nicely. They started getting along. Shannon started accepting Keller's calls as well, which kind of made Ryan jealous, but he couldn't really say anything about it. 

Keller started wearing his usual smug demeanor. Ryan wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Of course, he would make sure from his end that Shannon wouldn't get hurt. HE didn't trust Keller, though, and with good reason. 

IT was about 4 weeks later when he was talking to Shannon and his wife very casually asked about Tobias Beecher. So, that was Keller's plan. Ryan didn't want to make a big deal of Beecher to Shannon, not wanting to draw attention to what the underlying issue was, but he needed her know not to give any of his information to Keller. 

"He didn't ask you for his number or what he did for a living, did he?"

"Yeah, he was asking how you and I got in touch. I told him Toby found me, that he works as a PI now. 

Then I gave him the number when he said he needed help finding someone."

Shit. Shannon had just opened up the biggest can of worms imaginable. 

"I gotta go. I'll call you tomorrow." He hung up, not even giving her a chance to speak. He needed to talk to Miguel. Miguel was sitting in the quad watching TV. 

"Shit, " he said. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."

"What's the matter, baby"

"Keller wormed Toby's number out of Shannon. "

"Shit, " said Miguel. "What are you going to do?"

"We'll have to call and warn Toby. Keller can't make another call for a few hours. We'll hope he didn't reach Toby."

Ryan and Miguel went to ask for permission to use the phone. There wasn't a line. They made a call to Toby, but when the operator mentioned Oswald State Penitentary, Ryan could hear Beecher screaming,"No, No, No, I will not accept the charges. Leave me the fuck alone!"

OK- that sounded like Keller had already tried to reach Tobias Beecher. 

Chris Keller had found out a lot from Ryan's wife. He was surprised how much information and how fast she was willing to give it up to him about Toby. She was just a piece in his game, a way to get Toby back to him. It was a shame too, he rather enjoyed talking to the broad and she was quite the looker. He still couldn't figure out why Ryan had linked them together, but he was grateful for it. 

When he couldn't get a hold of Toby himself, he'd asked Shannon to call him on 3 way and put the phone down so he could speak with him. The conversation ended quickly, but not before Toby admitted that O' Reily had tipped him off to his plan of getting him sent back to Oz. He stormed off from the phone room, his sights locked on that Irish fuck. Ryan was sitting in the quad, catching some Miss Sally and halfway reading one of Miguel's birthday books on Che Guevara. Keller stormed up, his eyes breathing fire.

"You warned Toby I would try to bust his parole," he growled. He knew that Toby's number would be disconnected when he called tomorrow. He also knew that Ryan knew other ways of getting a hold of him that Shannon didn’t. Like his home or work address.

"Yeah, I did, " said Ryan calmly. He had always been very protective of Beecher-as long as he had needed it. And with Keller threatening to bust his parole just to keep him here for his own sick reasons, he needed it. Ryan knew that Miguel was not in here for life, although his chances of getting parole in say, the next 50 yrs, was pretty slim because of the additional charges about Rivera. But if he did get parole, Ryan would miss him like hell but he would let him go. That was what it meant to be in love. To truly love someone. 

"This is war, motherfucker, " Keller growled before stalking off. 

"Bring it on, " Ryan muttered. Still, he knew that Keller was no lightweight and he warned Miguel to be careful. Of course, Keller's opening volley was to have Miguel popped with tits. The guards had no choice. Two weeks in the hole. 

For Miguel, who hadn't been alone since he got out of solitary. Miguel, who didn't like small spaces.   
Keller had no idea what the hole would do to Miguel, but Ryan did. It was war, indeed, motherfucker.  
Ryan was pacing the pod, racking his brain on ways to get back at Keller and ways to get Miguel out of the hole earlier. He knew it'd be a stretch if he could even pull it off at all, but he knew Miguel being in there would be a huge setback for the Latino. Luckily, Joey had just been sent to an owner, otherwise Miguel would've had to have given him up while he was in the hole. 

Keller had to have known what this would do to Miguel, what it would do to Ryan. If he wanted to attack Ryan, he would have popped him for tits. The son of a bitch didn't even know what he had coming for him. Ryan had waited until Keller left for the gym and had one of his men plant a shank in his pod. He made mention of seeing it on Keller recently to a guard in passing and then boom-a shakedown. As Keller was taken to the other hole cell, Ryan couldn't help grinning right in his face. 

"See you in 30, K-Boy." 

Miguel did not deal well with small spaces. He did not deal well with solitary. Added to this was not being on his medications. The medications had been working. The guards wouldn't give him meds in the hole, though. Dr. Nathan and Sister Pete argued for Miguel at least getting his meds in the hole, to no avail. The loss of the psychotropic drugs caused Miguel to decompensate severely. By the fourth day in the hole, he was starting to hallucinate, but at this point it was a relief. His brain felt all scrambled. He couldn’t find anything to hold on to, except thoughts of Ryan. But in the hole, Ryan felt like a dream, far away. 

Ryan was livid when he found out they weren't giving Miguel his medication. He'd spoken to Gloria, Sister Pete, Father Ray, even McManus and no one seemed to want to help him. "He'll fucking go crazy in there!"

McManus just shrugged his shoulders. "Then we'll deal with that when we get there, O' Reily." Ryan stood abruptly, knocking the chair to the floor. He left without another word, determined to figure out a way to help the Latino. 

By the time the two weeks were up, Miguel was in a daze. He couldn't tell fantasy from reality, he could barely comprehend the guards telling him to put his clothes on. He made his way back to Em City, Ryan meeting him outside their pod. He clung to the Irishman, as though he was trying to figure out if he was real or just another hallucination. Ryan led Miguel into the pod and got his shaving kit.  He wrapped him in a towel and led him to the showers. Miguel got it together a bit and was able to wash and shave, but he appeared confused and disoriented. 

Ryan got him back to the pod and dressed and then asked the guards if they could go and see Sister Peter Marie. They called McManus, who saw how bad Miguel was, and gave his permission. Ryan led Miguel through the prison to Sister Pete's office. He suddenly realized that perhaps Sister Pete should know the whole story- or as much as possible-about Keller wanting to try and get Beecher back in Oz.   
"Sister Pete, " he said, worriedly. "It's Miguel. He got out of the hole today. He's not doing well."                                                                           
Sister Peter Marie took one look at Miguel and knew they'd made a huge mistake in not giving him his meds. 

Ryan proceeded to tell her about Keller and Beecher, about how Keller was coming after them now and how he was concerned the other man would try to do worse once he got out of the hole. She scheduled a session with Miguel for the following day and sent him to the infirmary to get checked out by Dr. Nathan and get his medication started again. She left her office and headed straight for Tim McManus' office. 

"What brings you to Em City, Pete?"

"Chris Keller needs to be transferred out of Emerald City."

McManus wasn't expect to hear that. "Why? Because he got busted with a shank? It happens all the time here, I can't send him to gen pop for that."

"He's planning an attack on Ryan O' Reily and Miguel Alvarez. He's been trying to ruin Tobias Beecher's chances of staying on the outside. He's a dangerous man, Tim." McManus looked at Sister Pete. 

"How do you know this?"  
"Ryan O' Reily. He figured out that Keller was trying to ruin Beecher's parole. Tobias has been working as a private investigator and Ryan had hired him to find his wife. "

McManus blinked at the idea of O' Reily, who he always thought of as joined at the hip with Alvarez, still being married on the outside.  
"O' Reily's wife was sick- Ryan didn't tell me this, Tobias Beecher did-but now we know why Ryan decompensated recently on the heroin. Ryan gives his wife's number to Chris Keller. Keller sweet talks the wife into calling Tobias and finds out that O' Reily is the one that tipped him off that Chris wants him back in Oz. He's obsessed with getting Tobias Beecher returned to Oz. I spoke with Toby and he's frightened. He's trying to raise those children and put Oz behind him and there's an obsessed Chris trying to get him sent back here with no regard for those children."

McManus let out a sigh of frustration. "Just because O' Reily told you that, doesn't make it fact. I need proof, you know that."

Sister Pete stared long and hard at Tim McManus, vowing to find a way to get Keller out of Em City.   
Ryan had brought Miguel back to their pod after visiting the infirmary. Gloria had given Miguel a pretty high dosage to start with and gonna gradually lower it once his mind caught up with itself. Miguel didn't want to leave Ryan's side, protesting when the Irishman got up to use the toilet. The hallucinations had stopped by the time he'd finished his shower, but he was paranoid and the thought of being left alone kept him on edge. 

Ryan lay back down with his lover, pulling him close. "Keller's gonna fucking pay for this, Miguel. He fucked up big time."

"I don't wanna talk about him right now, baby. Talk to me about anything but him." 

Ryan held Miguel close and murmured in his ear about how he would be able to go back to training dogs when he felt better and various gossip that had happened in the two weeks he was in the hole. He kissed his lover and rubbed his back until he fell asleep. Then, Ryan got up and lit a joint. Miguel was so paranoid right now that weed wouldn't help him much, but Ryan wanted a joint to settle the jitters in his mind. He was ready to kill Chris Keller for what he had done to Miguel. Gloria said she didn't know how long it would take to get him back to normal with his meds. At least a week or two before Miguel was feeling more like himself. Ryan ground his teeth in frustration. 

Sister Pete was frustrated at McManus' blindness. The man wouldn't know his ass if it wasn't actually connected to his body. She called Tobias Beecher again and asked him to call McManus and tell him about what Keller had done so far. Beecher was understandably reluctant but he agreed to do as Sister Pete asked. He called McManus and talked to him to an hour and a half. "So," said Sister Pete. 

"Are you going to move Chris Keller?"

"I don't know, " said McManus. "I would like the chance to help him. "  
"At the expense of how many?"

"Maybe I should move Alvarez and O' Reily. Move them to different pods."

"Are you crazy? First of all, every guard you have in Em City would quit, McManus. Those two and Said have done the most to keep things from exploding. Open your eyes, McManus." Sister Pete called a staff meeting, wanting to prove a point to Tim that keeping Ryan and Miguel together was the best thing for Emerald City. She knew if she got enough support behind her, McManus might stop being difficult and see trying to "help" Keller was really hurting everyone in Em City. 

Tim was the last one to enter the staff lounge, seeing several guards, Father Ray, Dr. Nathan, and even Warden Glynn. "What is all this about, Pete?"

The nun stood and regarded Tim. "We understand that you run Emerald City but after much discussion we've come up with an ultimatum: move Chris Keller out and allow O' Reily and Alvarez to continue being pod mates or resign your position to someone else."

McManus was appalled. "Those are my options? Are you kidding me? I can help Keller if you just give me the chance, I'm sure of it.” Sister Pete gave a yell of frustration. How could Tim McManus be so blind? 

Dr. Nathan spoke up. "Tim, both Sister Pete and I asked you about seeing to Miguel Alvarez' meds while he was in the hole. You ignored us. Ryan O' Reily came to you and told you the same thing. I am still trying to get Miguel Alvarez back to where he was. I agree, he needed to be punished by sending him to Ag Seg, but you ignored that he needed his meds. Now, you want to split them up as pod mates? For what reason? Who would that help?"

One of the guards, Montague-an Irishman, stated,"You move them and I quit. Every guard in Em City will quit. We've already told the Warden."  
"Tim, " said Warden Glynn. "Tobias Beecher called me and Kareem Said came to see me. Tobias Beecher is upset enough that he has already filed a personal order of protection and he has provided me with more than enough evidence that Chris Keller has an unhealthy obsession with him."

"I spoke to Beecher. He sounded a bit paranoid to me," commented McManus.

"He has a good reason to sound paranoid. He's trying to get his life back and Chris Keller is trying to ruin that for him,” commented Sister Pete. 

"You've heard the ultimatum, Tim," said the Warden. "You need to move Keller or resign. Your choice."

Tim hated being told what to do. He was extremely stubborn but he refused to give up his position. Emerald City was his baby and as much as he'd like to do things his way, he'd rather give this battle up than let someone else run his cellblock into the ground. He let out a sigh of defeat. "Move him to gen pop." 

The rest of the meeting was used to implement some rules to follow in case something similar like that happened again. Sister Pete slipped out of the meeting, wanting to be the one to deliver the news to Ryan and Miguel. When she got to their pod, Miguel was asleep and Ryan was sitting in the chair at the head of the bunk, one hand holding open a book he was reading, the other running through Miguel's hair. 

She knocked lightly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful scene inside. He signaled for her to enter, closing his book. "What's the verdict, Sister?"

"Keller's out. You and Miguel are safe." Ryan didn't believe that they were truly safe, but Keller would get out and go to gen pop. 

The next step was to make sure that he was neutralized while in gen pop. Ryan reached out to some of the Irishmen in Gen Pop and some of the Latino's as well. Chico had taken over while Miguel was recovering and the Latinos-happy with Miguel's leadership-were pissed. There was also the effect this had on the tits running in Oz. Miguel was getting somewhat better, now having been out of the hole for five days, but he was nowhere near back to normal. 

Miguel had grown clingy and his nightmares had returned. He would wake, shuddering, in Ryan's arms. Ryan got Eduardo to steal some Valium from the Infirmary for Miguel, for he was twitchy and slept uneasily at night. He was returning to normal but the futility of it all pissed Ryan off. 

It was Sunday and Ryan and Miguel had gone to church. Miguel because he truly believed and Ryan because Miguel went and he was still vague. Father Ray gave his sermon and then came up to them afterwards. Ryan suspected Ray still had a bit of a crush on Miguel but he found that he really didn't mind. Miguel was his. 

"How are you, Miguel? " he asked. 

"Still a little scrambled, Father. I want to sleep a lot."

“Once the meds take effect in your system again, you'll feel a lot less scrambled and much more normal, Miguel," said Ray. 

"That's what everyone keeps telling him, Father, " said Ryan. 

"He's lucky you take such good care of him, " said Father Ray. 

Although Ryan didn't like seeing Miguel so out of it, he secretly liked being the one to take care of the other man again. Ryan hated feeling weak. When he'd gotten sick, Miguel took such good care of him. He'd appreciated the gesture, he just hated feeling dependent. He liked being in control, liked the fact that he was the one Miguel turned to, to help him deal. Miguel was much more clingy than normal, but that didn't faze Ryan in the least. He loved contact so any extra contact Miguel needed, he was more than willing to give. 

Keller was out of the hole and rumor going around was he was pissed. He knew the man would hold a grudge until he was able to get his revenge or find a new person to prey on. Luckily he had no real allies in Em City that would try to go after them so they could breath a little easier. Miguel had been out of the hole for two weeks now and the meds were finally working. Signs of the old Miguel were peeking through, much to the relief of both men. Ryan and Miguel were laying in Miguel's bunk, cuddling. They had been doing this much more. Miguel was feeling somewhat better but still tired and scrambled and he wasn't sure of himself. He was working in the infirmary but only half days because he still was so tired. He sensed that Ryan liked taking care of him. He liked how Ryan pampered him.   
Keller made his next move, but he fucked it up. He tried to pay an Aryan to come after Ryan, but the guards got wind of it. They beat the shit out of Keller and tossed him in the hole for another week. Ryan was wondering if he could set it up for Keller to die in the hole. The fucker was obviously obsessed with revenge and with Beecher. Ryan was thinking of ways to get Keller while he was in the hole. The fucker was slippery though and Ryan knew if another of his enemies showed up dead in the hole, people would start suspecting things. 

Chico came by their pod to shoot the breeze with Miguel when Ryan got an idea. "Hey Guerra, you know anyone in gen pop with nothing to lose?"

He thought about it for a moment and nodded. "This guy Perez. He's not really part of El Norte, but he's cool with us. Need him to take someone out?" 

"Yeah," said Ryan, slowly. "Would it be possible to meet the guy?"

That wasn't a problem and Chico led him and Miguel into gen Pop to meet him. The guy was more than willing to take on Keller once he got out of the hole again. Ryan set it up for him to take Keller out. He double paid some guards to let Perez into the hole with Keller. Ryan was on edge for the next three days, for he wasn't sure when the guards were going to let Perez into the hole. On the third day, they were placed in lockdown. Now he just had to wait and see if Perez had actually managed to kill Keller.   
Miguel couldn't sit still during the lockdown. He was so nervous about the outcome. If Keller wasn't dead, he'd come after Ryan twice as hard, and Miguel wasn't sure Ryan would get out of it unscathed. If he did die, there was always that small chance people would start pointing fingers at them. He paced the pod for the millionth time it seemed before Ryan finally got annoyed enough to physically stop him. 

"Will you chill out? You're gonna work yourself into a frenzy."

Miguel sighed, leaning his head against the wall. "I just wanna know if he got that cocksucker. I need to know."

Ryan kissed him, trying to calm him, distract him. "In a few hours, we'll know. Until then, relax. For me?"

The next morning, count was called, announcing the end of lockdown. Ryan didn't want to look to eager getting information, so grabbed some laundry and made his way to the laundry room where Guerra was. "What happened?" 

"Like clockwork, " said Chico. "He got in, he shanked him, he got out. I'm not sure if Keller is dead, but if he isn't, he's seriously injured. "

"Could you go check?" Miguel asked. 

When Chico left, he turned to Ryan. "He's got to be dead!"

"Yeah, " said Ryan calmly. "But if he isn't, we'll make sure he gets that way."

Ryan hadn't told Miguel yet, but he had received 2000 from Beecher to make sure that Keller bought the farm. Beecher was thinking of his kids and he didn't need to have to constantly worry about what Keller might do. The guy was psycho. If Keller bought it, Ryan would get another 1000. This would push them way up in the tit trade. 

It was another couple hours before Chico sought out Ryan with updated news on Keller. He was pushing his tray past Ryan, catching the mans eye. 

"Food looks good today, O' Reily," he said with a wink. Ryan caught what he was saying, willing himself to keep a straight face until he was off duty. He served Guerra, making a mental note to sneak him a candy bar when he sat down to lunch. Miguel didn't come through the line anymore since Ryan had been preparing his food special, he would reserve their spots instead. Ryan grabbed both their trays and all but ran to sit with his lover.

"We're gonna have to find a way to celebrate tonight, babe."

Miguel raised an eyebrow in question, not wanting to get ahead of himself. 

"Dead and gone." 

That evening, after lockdown, Miguel was sitting on the bed and Ryan in the chair. They were getting ready to smoke a joint, which Miguel was rolling in the safety of his bed. "I should tell you something, babe, " said Ryan, setting down his book. "We have some extra cash flow. Enough to really move us up in the tit game. Enough to make some real money here in prison. Beecher paid me 4000 to off Keller. The fact that he came after you just sweetened the deal. We need to talk to Pancamo. With this kind of money, I don't want to move up until we work something out with them."

The Italians were always content to be the sellers, not the runners, so Miguel and Ryan and their respective crews became the big movers and shakers in the prison. And so more time passed. Miguel recovered enough to take another dog, a female named Susie. It had taken him almost six months to recover from two weeks in the hole. Before he knew it, Miguel was having another birthday. He again was given a small party in the pod by Ryan. This time, Ryan paid one of Miguel's sisters to buy him gifts. Miguel's family, of course, didn't know about his true relationship with Ryan but they were aware that he had the same cellmate now for several years. 

Miguel knew that Ryan's birthday was coming up and last year, he had been recovering from the hole and had barely remembered the day. This year, he wanted to do something special for Ryan. Just as Ryan had reached out to Miguel's sisters, Miguel decided to reach out to Shannon. Shannon had figured out Miguel and Ryan had a different kind of relationship pretty early on. She didn't confront Ryan with it because she knew he'd just deny it. It wasn't until she received the call from Miguel about his birthday that she understood just how serious the two were. She and Ryan had been over many years ago, she had no hard feelings toward what he felt for Miguel. She was thrown off by the fact that Ryan had fallen for a man. 

Miguel asked Shannon to get him some things for the Irishman’s birthday, figuring she'd know his taste the best. She agreed to send the package at the end of the week, comprising of his favorite candy, an Ireland shirt (his was getting old), some books, and an old photo of he and Cyril, before Cyril's accident. 

She was going to send a package of her own, divorce papers with a letter. She figured anyone else would dread such a thing on their birthday, but she thought it time to set Ryan free, give them both a chance to fully move on.  Ryan woke up on his birthday thinking it would be just like any other day. When he woke up, he saw that Miguel had decorated the pod for his birthday. His gifts were wrapped and waiting on the desk. 

"Happy birthday, baby, " Miguel exclaimed, hugging him. "Open your gifts."

Ryan was happy with the things that Miguel had gotten him from Shannon. Ryan was surprised when he opened Shannon's package and saw what she had sent him. 

"Wow, " he said. 

"What is it?" asked Miguel.

"Divorce papers."

Miguel stayed quiet, not really sure how Ryan was going to react to that news. A moment passed before Ryan started laughing. Miguel wasn't expecting that. "Baby?"

Ryan looked over at Miguel, a smile still on his face. "This is perfect. I'm free. I don't have to feel guilty or like I'm cheating either one of you." He read the letter that she'd sent with it, noting there were no ill feelings. "This is the best gift I could’ve gotten. I'm officially all yours." Miguel tackled Ryan and they both collapsed on Miguel's bunk.

"All mine, forever, baby".


End file.
